Soul Eater Chronicles: Midnight Rave!
by Juno Valesti
Summary: HAPPY NEW YEAR, guys! Update: Here's 3 new chaps for you all to read and enjoy! Don't forget to comment! :D
1. Usurper's Advent

**Author's Notes:** Happy New Year! It's a bit late, but I managed to pull an all-nighter for this. Anyway, I've decided to take the Soul Eater Chronicles into a whole new direction. I think I'm gonna have to rate it M since it's really gonna be...unexpected, to say the least. A word of warning though, its going to be more serious and a bit more darker... I even **_might _**add a _**few**** almost**_-lemonish scenes...If there are any questions, suggestions, comments or violent reactions (As my professor would say) please express yourselves via review... thank you and here it is... enjoy reading!

* * *

**Soul Eater Chronicles: Midnight Rave! Episode 1: Usurper's Advent**

* * *

December 1, 2009 — as the holidays loomed ever closer, the mood of celebration was slowly being felt within Death City. The architecturally-questionable buildings were decorated with dazzling lights of almost every color. The sandstone streets were thoroughly cleaned and made anew. Beautiful lanterns of Xmas and Halloween design were hung high above to light the streets below. A massive Xmas tree was erected before Shibusen which was seen by everyone as a sign of Yuletide greetings from the Shinigami himself.

Tourists that flocked from different parts of the world just to catch a glimpse of the Shinigami were not disappointed for large posters and billboards of the Death Family littered the cityscapes. The Shinigami was pictured wearing a Santa's cap and giving off his signature peace sign. On the other hand, his son was a bit more...seductive. It was uncertain why, but he was showing off his near-perfect, silky-smooth skin in several, shirtless, supermodel-like poses. It was a visual treat for girls, though many questioned if he were advertising for a brand of colon or something. Nevertheless, there was no harm done and his pictures were selling like hotcakes.

It was rare to see the city in such a state of normality. Due to the recent incidents regarding the remnants of Arachnophobia and the witches, days of peace and merrymaking were quite hard to come by. So it was only reasonable that brief periods of merriment were enjoyed to the fullest.

* * *

5:54 p.m. — only minutes before the evening bell would ring, Black Star and Tsubaki were making their way down the steps. Surprisingly, Black Star had a band aid across his nose and on his cheek, indicating he had yet to fully recover from the beating he received from his partner some time ago. Meanwhile, Tsubaki was all smiles. The memory of that faithful night lingered in her thoughts and made her ever so joyful. At the very last step, he abruptly turned around to surprise his partner.

"What is it, Black Star?" she asked.

"Um, I've been thinking... about yesterday..." he blushed.

"Oh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to hit you so hard. Does it still hurt?"

"No, I'm not talking about the wounds, it's about... well, have you ever had a boy friend before?" he blurted out.

"W-what? Black Star!" she quickly turned away. The word "boy friend" was the last thing she'd thought to hear from her blunt companion. Honestly, she's been sending out obvious signs of her affection for some time now and none of which were even noticed. Then, from out of the blue, he suddenly asks her about it. "_How impossible can you get?_" Nevertheless, this was an opportunity she would not squander. So, clamping her rosy-red cheeks, she dared to say, "No. Why?"

"Well, how can I say this...Tsubaki, will you be my—" he need not say more for his partner had already answered him with a sweet kiss. At long last, the thick-headed fool of a boy was able to see past himself and realize the importance of those around him. With this, both of her wishes came true. One being that he was growing up and the other is that her love is requited. Though no words could describe the sheer joy and happiness that Tsubaki felt, Black Star on the other hand was more than overexcited. He leapt about, laughing and shouting like a madman until other students noticed him. That's when he cried out, "YAHOO! I HAVE A GIRL FRIEND!!!!"

* * *

Meanwhile, deep within the hallowed halls of Shibusen, a less cheerful tale was taking place. Chrona, after the incident at Paris, has withdrawn from the comfy confines of her room with Maka and relocated herself back to the dank and smelly dungeon of their beloved school. Mayhap she did this so as not to embarrass herself or mayhap she simply wanted to avoid any awkwardness with Maka for she knew that her good intentions led to the commission of a forbidden act. Embarrassed she was, ashamed to be called a friend; mayhap 'twas the reason for her reclusion. Regardless, Maka found herself wondering that as she stood outside the girl's room.

Summoning what strength she could, she knocked on the door hoping for a quick reply.

"Chrona, it's me. Can I come inside?"

"Maka, please go away. I-I don't want you to see me like this..."

Hearing her speak like a wounded animal, how could Maka take NO for an answer? She immediately opened the door and saw Chrona sitting in a dark corner of the room. "Chrona... are you alright?" she approached.

"P-please... just leave. I-I don't... you don't deserve someone like me. I'm sorry for all the —"

"Baka! What the heck are you talking about!? Of course I deserve a friend like you! So don't say such things!"

"B-But I did that awful thing to you... I k-kissed..." she could no longer hold back the tears. "I kissed you, Maka!" she was about to break down only to be stopped by the warm embrace of her best friend.

"It's okay..." Maka blushed. "You were just trying to save me, right?" she smiled at her when she looked up. "And even though something else happened, I know that I wouldn't be alive if it hadn't been for you."

"B-But... If I hadn't fallen over... you wouldn't have jumped. Why did you do that? It's my fault! You shouldn't have..."

"No, I still would..." she said as she gently caressed Chrona's lavender hair. "You're very important to me, Chrona. And don't you ever forget that," with those kind words, Maka broke the threshold of simple friendship when her soft lips gently pressed against those of Chrona.

"I love you... Chrona..."

Soon whispers of love and affection were heard coming from the room as this poignant tale ends with the tears of the forgotten boy who stood silently outside.

* * *

Elsewhere, Death the Kid had finally returned home to the Shinigami mansion house. As relieved as the Thompson Sisters were of this, the appearance of a certain visitor disturbed them.

"Patty, why do you think that ecchi-cat is doing here?" Liz whispered.

"I dunno. Can we ask her?" she whispered back.

"Of course not. That's rude."

"Um, actually, it's a lot ruder to be talking about me when I'm in the room, nyah," Blair smiled at them from across the living room. Just like the two who'd returned to wearing their trademark cowboy duds, the cat wore her usual witchy outfit. "But if you're wondering, I'm here 'coz Kid-kun asked me to."

"Oh-kay... where has he been off to this past couple of weeks, do you know?" asked Liz.

"Not really, he's been going out a lot. He only came home this morning, nyah."

"By _home_, you mean?"

"The Pumpkin House, Okami-sama took him there after he got into a fight."

"Wait, he's been with Blair all this time!?"

"Maybe, but I'm not really sure about that, nyah."

"I can't believe that guy! He is so dead!" Liz got up and marched right upstairs.

Wasting no time, Patty took out a small green candy ball, "So you're a cat, right? Here!" she tossed it on the floor.

"What are you...Wait! That's—" instantly Blair went straight for the enticing object. "Catnip, nyah!" A blissful young woman rolling around and toying with the thing was an utterly hilarious sight for Patty

* * *

At the same time, a wet Kid with only a towel around his hips answered the door.

"Kid, where've you been!?" yelled the girl, a bit red around the cheeks.

"I've been to the shower. Didn't the towel give me away?" he sighed.

"You bastard, you know what I'm talking about! And you also know that _that_ _girl_ is a witch, she's dangerous! You shouldn't be hanging around her!"

_She's annoying. Kill her!_

"Oh, so I should be hanging around you, then?"

"What? T-That's not what I mean... what I meant was..." she stopped when Kid suddenly caressed her cheek. "What are you doing!?" she gasped in response.

"I understand what you mean to say. So, why don't you come in here and we'll _hang_ around together?" a seductive smile beckoned her.

"N-No! Don't be ridiculous!" she turned around but was suddenly pulled into the room and the door slammed shut. There was a brief scream that was quickly silenced. Down below, Patty was still laughing it up, unaware of the terrible deed that had befallen her dear sister...


	2. Boulevard of Broken Dreams

**Soul Eater Chronicles: Midnight Rave! Episode 2: Boulevard of Broken Dreams**

* * *

The next day, 9:00 a.m. at Death's Room — The Shinigami was sitting ceremoniously on a soft futon as he sipped a cup of green tea. It's been quiet for the past week and he felt some relief from it. For once, he could now enjoy a quaint morning tea without worrying about anything other than what pastry to partake. However, sitting opposite him in similar fashion was Spirit who appeared to be in great pain.

"Shinigami-sama..." he muttered.

"Eh? What is it, Spirit-kun?"

"Do I really have to do this?"

"What do you mean?"

"_This_," he referred to their tea-drinking ceremony. Though he had no problem with upholding tradition and all that, but being unused to the long formality left his knees in a dire state. Not only has he incurred cramps on both legs, but also lost the feeling of his lower half.

"Is something wrong?" a noticeable vein showed his irritation.

Sensing an imminent Shinigami-Chop, he immediately corrected himself. "N-Nothing. What I meant to say was what's with all those stuff?" he pointed at all the surrounding paraphernalia of Xmas and Halloween. Presents everywhere, Xmas trees and the dry sands around them were replaced by real snow and not to mention there was even mistletoe hanging overhead which was suspicious in their situation. It was a month late for Halloween and to have it celebrated with Xmas at the same time was bizarre. "What is this all about?"

"Oh that. It's all part of theplan Blair-chan thought up."

"Oh... PFFWWHAT!?" he sprayed his tea all over the Shinigami. "You mean the cat, right?"

"Nope. I'm talking about the person. She came here yesterday and talked about helping us break through the Soul Protect spell... isn't that great?" he cheered as Spirit lay flat after a swift chop to his soft head.

"H-How c-could you... I mean, can we trust her?" Spirit whimpered.

"I dunno... but isn't this fun? Look! She already gave me presents!" he started shaking the boxes in hopes to reveal clues of their mystery contents.

"Shinigami-sama...I think that's called a bribe..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Soul Eater Evans was walking aimlessly down the sandstone streets. Before he noticed it, he wondered pass Elms St. and Fleet St. into PussyFoot Boulevard which was THE shopping hub of the city. As such, many different kinds of garments, food, and miscellaneous items were up for sale. Here, it was quite easy to lose oneself before the overwhelming temptations of buy-and-sell.

"Wow! It's so cute! This'll look great on Stein! Ku-ku-ku, I'll buy it!" he saw the Death Scythe, Marie going gaga over a flamboyant dress.

"Hey! That's mine! I called dibs!" Kim tried to snatch the desired dress from her sempai, thus a catfight ensued over the new IN-clothes. Such things were a common sight in the boulevard.

Anyway, he wasn't interested in these things for he was looking for something special. You see, his memories of yesterday were a bit hazy, but he was sure of what may have happened between Maka and Chrona. However, when he woke up this morning to find Maka sleeping soundly in her room alone, he was beside himself. Whatever happened may have been the result of a bad dream. So his feelings of sadness and anxiety were without merit and he felt silly about it. And thus, to reignite whatever flame they had, Soul now seeks for a perfect Xmas gift to express himself and his true feelings before it was too late.

"Yeah, I can do this!" he declared with fiery resolve. Knowing that Maka loved to read books and to hit people with it, he immediately went into the closest bookstore.

* * *

At the same time, Black Star and Tsubaki were not too far behind him. Unlike Soul, they've already finished with their shopping. Black Star had secretly purchased two expensive tickets to one of the best tables in the upcoming "Shibusen's Special Holiday Party" set to take place on the 24th. In addition, he also took classes in character refinement so as not to be called a slob once again. On the other hand, Tsubaki bought him a brand-new cell phone and also prepared a pair of matching silver rings. Although seeing as how the 24th was still ages away, the two love birds decided to have their first ever date today.

"Um, so Tsubaki, where do you want to go?" smiled Black Star.

"Well, why don't we go window shopping? It'll be fun!" she suggested and led him to a nearby apparel store, where they just so happen to bump into Blair the Witch.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked in a friendly manner.

"Nothing. We're just buying stuff."

"I see...On your first date, eh?"

"No, we're not!" they denied in unison which immediately caused them to blush.

"Okay, okay...I can take a hint," she bid them the best of luck and went on her way.

* * *

Blair passed by the bookstore and overheard Soul complaining, "What? It costs THAT much!? It's just a book! Come on!" She saw him waving around a hardcopy of the "Soul Eater Chronicles" book as the store clerk was arguing with him.

She chuckled and looked at the new sweater she bought. It was made of black-dyed wool, adorned with skulls on the neckline and more importantly, it was symmetric on both sides. Even with her in-depth research she still didn't know what Kid fancied, but with the cold months setting in, she thought getting something practical and useful would be to his liking.

"I hope Kid will like this."

Thoughtful as it seemed, it wasn't done out of the kindness of her heart. As one would expect, Blair was the kind of person who'd always want something in return. That is why she also plans to ask him out.

Although one might already conclude as to how this would turn out, especially considering how Arachne and Medusa fell in love with their own experiment subjects and were destroyed for it. Blair knew of this, yet she did not want to deny her emotions nor did she want to flee from them.

She had no reason to fear for her life since Kid was different from the agents of insanity such as Stein or madness incarnate like Asura. Kid was Kid. He was a perfectionist, and a symmetry-obsessed boy who was also handsome, intelligent, and caring. He wasn't like any of those monsters. She knew it for the fact that the Thompson Sisters were always by his side and they always supported and protected him because he was such a great guy.

"Speak of the devil..." Kid appeared from the crowd with Patty and Blair the Cat. Unfortunately, due to the noise, they didn't hear her calling out to them. Instead, they continued walking towards Shibusen. She wanted to follow, but thought it better not to. Besides, there were still a lot of preparations she had to do before the big day and time was running out. So, she hurriedly set off to her next destination.

* * *

Somewhere else in the boulevard enters a newcomer to the world of SHOP. It was none other than former Demon Sword-Wielder, Chrona. Having been the first to taste the wondrous experience of eternal happiness from her _afternoon delight_, she went to PussyFoot in order to find something to present Maka with as a token of her love. Similarly to what Soul thought, she wanted to search the bookstores. However, the area was unknown to her and the great number of people made it difficult to spot any familiar landmark.

"What are you doing here, gecko?" a soft voice said to her.

She turned her head and found Eruka Frog, Free the Werewolf, and Mizune in her ultimate form. Contrary to common sense, the two witches were dressed in their usual witchy attire while Free was in his werewolf form. It was beyond belief. At this point, Chrona thought it was an elaborate illusion of some sort or maybe she was dreaming. Nevertheless, she did the mandatory. "Y-YOU!" she gasped, "What are you guys doing here!?"

"Hey, I asked you first!" the Frog Witch childishly protested.

"Looking to buy something?" Free asked in such a calm fashion as if the people around them didn't notice the 7-foot, talking dog standing right there. Mizune pushed him aside to show her their well-made kiosk. It was stuffed with many a strange garments as well as all manner of Halloween getups and knickknacks.

"We're here selling costumes. Want one?" she smiled, handing her an elegant yet fittingly dark gown of Gothic-Lolita design.

It took Chrona a few moments to take it all in. For the meantime, she stood there with her jaw dropped which made them laugh. "He-he-he. Chrona-chan, are you that surprised?" chuckled Mizune.

"If you're gonna ask, we're here 'coz Blair-sama asked us to," added Eruka.

"But-but... aren't you guys afraid of getting caught!?" Chrona was able to say.

"Ha! As if! Don't worry, Blair-san made it possible for us not to," spoke Free.

"W-What? How is that possible?"

"Take a good look around you. Blair-sama fooled that idiot Shinigami to host all these. The Xmas-Halloween thing was made for people like us to waltz in undetected. Brilliant, isn't it?" grinned the three.

It was at this point that Chrona began to notice the people around her. From the stacked-up food stalls to the friendly gift shops, the vendors looked familiar. "Witches..." Each and every one of them, hiding behind their Soul Protect spell, looked at her with glee. Chrona was utterly shocked by this revelation.

Deep and dark schemes have already started working in the background. Soon, great and terrible things were going to take place in the city of Death and no one would be ready for what would happen after...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Sorry it took quite a while... So, how was it? Any questions, comments, and suggestions would be awesome... Anyways, thanks again for all the support, you guys... ^_^ and keep on reading!


	3. Blind Date

**Soul Eater Chronicles Episode 3: Blind Date**

* * *

"W-what are you going to do?" mumbled Chrona.

"Nothing... Don't tell anyone, okay?" Mizune winked.

"Wait! You have to tell –" It was too late. They all disappeared into the crowds, leaving her with a small hint of what was to come. Almost immediately, she ran in search for help.

Even though she had a good relationship with the witches and that even her name had some degree of relevance to them, she needed to stop whatever they were planning. Ever since her mother died, Chrona had severed all contacts with the witches. She did this because she didn't want to be used again in one of their diabolical schemes. She had her freedom now and had also pledged her allegiance to the school. Thus, there was no stopping her from turning her back to those who could stab it.

"I'm not a pawn anymore!" she screamed to herself.

* * *

At the same time, Soul had just exited the bookstore. He got a book and was looking quite pleased with himself. For how could he not? Thanks to his _winning_ personality and clever _negotiating_ skills, he was able to buy the book with only a fraction of its original cost. Not to mention that it was also brand-new, hardbound, and was entitled, "How to NOT Date Your Loser Boyfriend", the extreme edition.

"Who am I kidding?" he fell back in defeat.

The thing that was meant to inspire love between him and Maka was also the very thing that warded against such love. It was counterproductive. With the mere act of buying it, he had already screwed himself over.

"Can't this day get any worse!?" he complained to the heavens.

_BAM!!!_

Not a second later, he was knocked down by something fast. When he came to, he saw Chrona standing over him, looking scared and confused.

"Soul, we have to warn the Shinigami! Witches are in the city!" she was panicking.

"What are you talking about?" he said, irritated.

"There are witches nearby!"

He got up and looked at those around them. The people were dressed as zombies, mummies, ghouls, and witches. He almost laughed at how Chrona must've mistaken this as a takeover on Death City. What a fool she was. She probably doesn't even know what Xmas or Halloween is all about.

"Okay, Okay, I understand," he chuckled.

"No... you don't," she caught on. Dismayed by his lack of trust, she decided to try elsewhere.

But before she could leave, Soul grabbed her by the hand. "Wait!" he said. He showed her the infernal book, his would-be gift to Maka. "Do you think that Maka'll like this?" he asked.

"I-I don't know..." she pauses for a moment and then tells him in a sad tone, "I don't know what Maka likes." As saddening as the truth was for her, little did she know how those words were music to the boy's ear.

"You don't?" he was barely able to contain his excitement upon realizing how ignorant she was. His heart was jumping with joy for he was so far ahead of the competition, or so he thought. He was about to say a lot of mean things when a hand touched his shoulder.

* * *

"Huh?" he looked back and saw two men behind him: A young priest and a portly man who appeared to be wearing brown lederhosen. The first, he recognized as the Death Scythe, Justin Law. While the other was someone he'd only seen once before in Shibusen.

"Good morning, Soul. Long time, no see," said Justin.

He gasped, "You!" pointing his finger at priest, "What are you doing here!?"

"I'm just accompanying my friend, Buttataki-san, to the school."

"Yo! I'm Joe," the older man waved his hand.

"Okay... Go on your way, then. Sorry, but I'm busy here!"

Joe tried to explain the situation while Justin listened to some tunes, "Well, actually, we're also here to pick you guys up. We're on a secret mission and –" he was immediately interrupted.

"OH NO! I'm not falling for that trick again! No way in hell am I cleaning that guy's damn ride again!" he protested and proceeded to distance Chrona and himself from them.

"LET'S NOT BE RUDE, JOE-SAN! CAN'T YOU SEE THEY'RE ON A DATE?" Due to his earphones, Justin couldn't hear himself talk and ended up announcing the whole affair to the world.

"W-WHAT!?" both students were quick to react. It was only at this time did they notice how Soul was still holding on to Chrona's hand. "It's not what it looks like!"

Joe threw his head back and laughed wholeheartedly, "Ah, to be young and in love! Hah!"

"NO, we're not!" blushing, as they denied it. However, as surprised as they were the first time, to finally realize that the WHOLE of PussyFoot stood silently watching their little scene play out was a bit shocking to say the least.

Chrona felt herself shrinking more and more as so many eyes were trained on them. On the other hand, Soul suffered a third blow. "Ah sh*t..." was all he could say after he recognized that the majority of the shoppers were all Shibusen students. More importantly, these guys were those whinny, shaded-silhouette, "extra" students, whom he remembered making _extra _angry sometime ago.

* * *

"Friends of yours?" asked Justin, while the extras whispered amongst themselves.

"Does that answer your question!?" Soul pointed to the large sign that had appeared on the crowd saying, "Soul is a dead man!"

"Wow, an angry mob already? Death City has really changed, huh?" laughed Joe.

Then, Soul froze upon seeing a new sign appear on the extras' cardboard-ish-type bodies "Maka will know, you two-timing bastard!" The thought of a hundred – no, a thousand Maka Chops splitting his head was already painful, not to mention that the agitated mob was slowly closing in on them.

"W-we're on a secret mission, right!? – Let's get out of here, then!" he grabbed all three of them and blitzed through the streets, ramming whomever just to escape as the angry mob was hot on their heels.


	4. Dirge of Death

**Author's Notes:** Greetings!... sorry the last chapter was a bit short... but to make up for that, I've written this chapter with more meat in it... Furthermore, I've also added some nice twists to keep yuz interested... Please Enjoy! and don't forget to leave a comment... ^_^

* * *

**Soul Eater Chronicles Episode 4: Dirge of Death**

* * *

"What is the meaning of this, honourable father?" Kid entered the Death Room, almost immediately he pointed out the odd mix of horror and holly that embellished the drab image of Death City. Never before had either festivals took place and for good reason. Xmas, the jolly season of giving, was never celebrated for the idea of an old man who could sail across the midnight sky on his flying sled was disturbing. Although many people would disagree with this notion, closer inspection would prove otherwise as was written by Juno in "Laments of Akura on the Modern-day Xmas":

* * *

"'Santa Clause' is supposedly a creatureof ancient existence. It is said that his garments were adorned with white fur from poor animals and dyed red from the blood of countless victims.

They say he would travel under the guise of darkness and force himself into the happy homes of the weary and innocent. Then, he would prey upon their rations of milk and cookies! Woe are those pastries, borne from the blood, sweat, and tears of many a parent, who've endured countless hours slaving over the unforgiving heat of the stove for the sole purpose of preparing a meagre, morning's meal for their precious children. Eaten they are! Devoured without remorse! Consumed without consent! Only the vilest of creatures would commit such an atrocity against humanity!

Yet this grim tale doth not end there. For after unleashing his gluttonous nature upon those unsuspecting milk and cookies, he would then turn his baleful gaze on the conspicuous subject of flora that would be present. As with every home he ravishes, he would leave his terrible mark under the decorated structure of pine or plastic.

Although some may outright state that it was his wonderful token of appreciation and would label them as 'gifts and presents', right? Of course not! Ordinary people that have filled their bellies with food would often find themselves in need of a long visit to the lavatory. Thus with such a thought considered, only those ill of mind would describe his 'tokens of appreciation' as wonderful.

After defiling the sanctity of their homes, the creature known as 'Santa Claus' would whisk away into the midnight skies on his magical flying sled.

With his departure and the story coming to a close, one would think to rejoice for it would be another full year before his reign of carnage returns. Thou shall not! Lest you forget the humble creatures that were forced into his service: the mighty reindeer and the noble elf. How would thou compare thine night of terror to the whole year of their suffering? Weep not for those doomed to eternal servitude. Rejoice and make merry, but never forget those who suffer for thine happiness..."

* * *

Moving on, with such a name as Death City, one would easily picture the celebration of the dead, Halloween, as a common occurrence. This is not the case here. For the grand festivities of eating candy and honouring the dead would also require the tradition of costume and tricks.

With the city's major population composing of either weapon or meister, having them dress up as their own enemies would drastically lower morale. Similarly to a deer hunter who's forced into the form of deer, it would be quite humiliating and degrading. In conclusion, Xmas and Halloween were never celebrated until now.

* * *

"Is everyone here?" asked the Shinigami, ignoring his son's question.

"Not everyone, Shinigami-sama. We've been unable to contact Tsubaki," reported Azusa in her no-nonsense attitude as she arrived with Maka. Following them were Soul, Chrona, Joe and Justin who respectfully announced their attendance.

"MAKAAA!!!" Spirit immediately leaped to her daughter. "I've missed you soooo much!!!" he sobbed, hugging her tightly. It was a touching father-daughter reunion. Well that was before a fearsome Maka-chop destroyed the moment.

Still conscious and teary-eyed, Spirit sobbed even more as he asked the reason for such an attack. Well even Black Star, if he were there, would've been repulsed by the oozes of green slime that dripped down the man's nose.

"D-Don't...forget...us..." a faint whisper came from the very haggard-looking Marie. She was shouldered into the room by Sid and Nygus. At first, everyone thought she'd been attacked by the witches. But a brief explanation by Sid cleared up the misunderstanding. They found her collapsed at the school's entrance and were about to bring her into the infirmary when she insisted to be brought to the Death Room instead.

"W-wait...I'm not a week late?" Marie was confused.

Her friend, Azusa, greeted her with the sharp flash of her glasses, "No. I called you a week earlier because I knew that this would happen. Although, I'm quite surprised you made it right on time considering your past records."

Upon those words, Marie collapsed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence..."

* * *

"Good, good. Now that we're all here, Azusa-kun will explain the rest," the Shinigami sat down to allow his subordinate some space to manoeuvre. After doing so, Azusa directed their attention to the monitors.

"As you're all aware, several powerful witches have made their way into Death City," she explained as the screen showed them a live view of these people as they went about their business.

"Wait, aren't we going to do anything!?" both Soul and Maka reacted. Chrona, who stood beside the boy, could only mutter, "I told you so."

"No, we're not," answered Azusa, "Engaging them in direct combat would only end in insurmountable casualties. We are to wait for the opportune moment to strike."

"And when exactly will that be?"

"Christmas Eve, of course," Blair the Witch appeared at last. Dragging along a shopping cart filled with a butt-load of stuff.

"Why Xmas Eve?" asked Maka in a surprisingly polite tone. Obviously, she was just trying to be friendly. Blair was suspicious, albeit pleased with this development.

"Okay then...Do you know that there's a very special time that only happens once or twice in every few centuries where a witch's powers are increased two – no, four or even ten-fold?"

* * *

Upon revealing this, Blair expected an uproar filled with mindless accusations, a few insults and maybe even a violent reaction; but she got silence instead. Everyone was looking at her attentively. They were shocked, yes, but it looked like they wanted to hear more of what she had to say.

"It's called The Witching Hour. It only occurs under a lunar eclipse during the peak of the Winter Solstice, which would be around _midnight_ on Christmas Eve," she grinned, menacingly.

That's when Blair got what she wanted, chaos. The Death Scythes looked towards the Shinigami for answers, whilst the students were too shocked to move.

"It is true," a sad reply from the Shinigami to their dismay, "the last one happened about 800 years ago shortly before the birth of Demon Weapons." With a heavy sigh, the Shinigami stood up and produced a large tome from his body. The worn-out cover and drooping, mouldy pages hinted its origins to a distant period of antiquity. "This is the Book of Eibon..." he said on a grim note.

* * *

The surprises kept on coming. Meanwhile, Kid looked upon the object with intent. His unquenchable hunger for knowledge screamed at him to act. For once in his possession, he'd be able to find out the truth about the Shinigami, about Asura, and about himself. Yet, he held himself back, remembering well the words of Azusa concerning the _opportune moment_ _to strike_.

_Oh great...here comes a history lesson..._

"800 years ago, Demon Weapons were born from the union of a witch's soul and that of a human. It was through the hands of the witch, Arachne that this came to be. However, she was hunted for it, by her own kind and by me. At that time, the witches would've turned a blind eye had she not taken the soul of your...their Witch Queen..." the Shinigami went quiet. But before he turned away, the expression seen on his mask was that of great sorrow.

Suddenly, Kid felt a sharp pain in his heart. His body grew numb and he struggled to breathe. The pain was too strong. It was overwhelming, as if his heart was desperately calling out to him. Something was telling him –no, begging him to run away, far away from that place. It wasn't Asura. But he knew he might die if he didn't follow.

"I-Is... that why..." the pain grew too great and it forced him down to a knee. Patty and the cat rushed to see if he was alright. He could not hear what they were saying for all his senses were screaming at him to leave. Even Asura, who had no idea of what was happening, was frantically shouting at him to get away. But he could not. He would not for underneath all that was a tiny flicker of hope. It was hope for someone he never knew.

"I-Is... that why...you hunted her, as well!?" he screamed, tears were flowing down his eyes.

"K-Kid, what's wrong?" everyone was surprised by this, except the Shinigami.

"In order to create the first and most powerful Demon Weapon, Arachne... she took the life of someone very dear to me..." the Death god looked back at him and said, "...someone very dear to you also, my son..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Oh... right... about leaving a question... I know I begged you guys for that... I'll answer any question that's related to the current chapter... like if you guys need something cleared up or if you need something explained... but I won't give out any **_spoilers_**... ^_^... it'll ruin the awesome surprise at the finale... Anyways, thanks for reading!


	5. Dreams and Nightmares, Why Am I Crying?

**Author's Note:** Whazzup? Sorry it took a while... please enjoy!

* * *

**Soul Eater Chronicles Episode 5: Dreams and Nightmares, Why Am I Crying!?**

* * *

"TSUBAKI!!!"

Black Star cried out, waking himself from a terrible nightmare. Panting heavily and covered in sweat, he looked around and recognized the safe and familiar surroundings of his room. Upon realizing that _that_ had happened again, he threw himself back on his pillow and heaved a heavy sigh. This dream has been occurring for the past several days now. It's the same nightmare where he's confronted by his father, White Star, and Tsubaki's older brother, Masamune.

Although having experienced this over and over, it soon grew tiresome and repetitive. But what kept him awake is that whenever Tsubaki dies at the end, she would always blame him for not being able to protect her from death. Even if he would soon realize it to be a bad dream, it was still a cruel and painful reminder of his weakness and limitations.

"What should I do?" he asked himself.

The digital clock beside his bed read 2:02 A.M. so it was still quite dark outside. He groaned at how early it was but got up. As he did with the previous nights before, he would first raid the fridge for a cold drink and then proceed to do several forms of exercise until he'd pass out due to exhaustion.

* * *

The next morning, around 10 o'clock, Professor Stein wheeled into the classroom and began writing their topic of the day without so much as a smile or a "good morning". The students experienced the same kind of silent-treatment coming from their class with Sid earlier where he entered class with a dead look on his face. Just like Stein, he moved quite slowly and seemed detached from everyone else. It was like he was a zombie or something.

"Stein-sama, are you alright?" asked Tsubaki.

"Huh?" Her words were able to reach him as he suddenly realized the difference between the blackboard and the wall. "Oh... um, you're getting a new teacher today... so class dismissed..." without any further explanation, he shooed them away so as to return to his thoughts.

"Well that was weird..." said Kim as she walked together with Tsubaki.

"We're having a new teacher today? Why would that bother Stein-sama – and Sid-sama as well?" she wondered.

"Meh, who cares? I'm just happy I'm able to say a few lines."

"Lines? What do you mean?"

"Oh nothing, nothing," she laughed, acting as though it were some random joke, "Anyways, since it's only us here, I might as well warn you about how the upcoming chapter is- HEY!" In an _unfortunate_ stroke of bad luck, a half-asleep Black Star was abruptly thrown into the scene. In doing so, Kim was _unintentionally_ bumped off-page.

"Black Star, where've you been? You missed class," Although the boy wasn't wearing anything except his 'sleeping' boxers, Tsubaki accepted this and assumed it was part of some steal-the-spotlight idea of his.

"Huh?" a bit dazed and confused, he managed to walk with her and grace the hallways with his undeniably, overwhelming, WTF-inspiring presence.

"I'm not really sure what's happening, but everyone's been disappearing lately. I could have sworn Kim-san was standing right there. She was warning me about something. It was like this morning, Maka, Soul, Liz, Patty, Kid and even Blair-san... With all of you absent, everyone else looked like grey outlines and silhouettes. It felt really weird," she said quite sadly as they walked towards the entrance.

* * *

Outside, where the Panting Sun was shining brightly, Black Star was fully awakened by the sudden blast of heat. "EEEEH!? What the heck!?" he gasped when he found out what everyone there was looking at. "Look!"

There at the distant steps came a very unexpected person. He was dragging along a giant holster full of katana swords whilst having a single one in a normal scabbard at his side. It looked as though he'd just arrive from a long journey seeing as how his clothes were torn and weathered by the unforgiving desert sun. He stopped at the middle of the grounds and stood there with a valiant form and a fearsome battle aura.

"M-Mifune-sama!?" Tsubaki was just as surprised as everyone else.

"Hold it!" Ox, Kilik and their weapons Harvar, Fire and Thunder suddenly appeared beside the two.

"Check that out," Ox pointed to Mifune's right leg. It was almost unnoticeable due to the man's presence, but there was a small person hiding behind his leg.

"Wait. That's–"

"Exactly, that's a witch – a rare opportunity," Ox and Kilik flashed their glasses in a typical Azusa manner but with added evil smiles.

* * *

Meanwhile, a peaceful morning tea party was taking place at the Death's Room.

"Achoo!" sneezed Azusa.

"Bless you," said Joe whilst pouring himself a cup of the rare _Uncle Bob's Rumba Coffee_.

This prompted Spirit to comment, "Someone must be talking about you."

"Don't be ridiculous. We aren't in some manga or anime," she responded.

"Yeah. It's a shame though... anyway, where did Shinigami-sama head off to again?"

"I think he went to return the Book of Eibon, he's still probably at the vault right now."

"We should leave him alone. Yesterday was pretty hard for him," sipped Joe. "Rather, you two should have some of this RUMBA COFFEE!" getting teary-eyed by the delicious taste, he looked up as though heaven was shinning down on him.

"Yeah, I guess – Whoa! Looks like _he's_ here!" Spirit pointed to one of the screens. There, they saw a victorious Mifune standing atop a pile of battered students.

* * *

"That's what you get for trying to bully Mifune!" chided Angela, the witch-child of whom Mifune protects quite stalwartly.

"H-He defeated them in no more than ten seconds?" gasped Jacqueline, who was one of the students smart enough not to tangle with such a formidable opponent.

"Wow. As to be expected from Mifune-sama," said Tsubaki.

While they all stared in awe, Black Star was seriously getting ticked off that this person was getting all the attention. Ever since Maka defeated the Kishin, he knew that his one, real chance of surpassing god went out the window. The reason why he'd been quiet these past few months was because he knew it was just a fluke. In fact, as he sees it, for someone as great and awesome to humble himself like he did by allowing Maka to deliver the finishing blow, he should get a medal or better yet he deserved the freakin' Nobel Prize for that. But did he get anything? No. There was not even a single "Thank You" or cash donations or at the very least they could have just erected a 150 meter tall, gold statue or something.

"Heh. So you finally found the balls to come here for a re-match?" spat an arrogant Black Star.

"What are you talking about? And can you please put a shirt on, you're scaring Angela," he said as the little girl was covering her eyes in fright.

Ignoring his words, Black Star circled the pile without breaking eye-contact. "I know what you're trying to do!" he shouted, gritting his teeth. Like what was mentioned earlier, Black Star was the humblest of men. Even without fame or recognition, he would've learned to live with it as long as Tsubaki was there with him. But for someone (else) to do something pathetic like a meagre show of strength and unjustly receive a praise from Tsubaki is unforgivable.

Stopping short of the stone steps, Black Star raised his fist and shouted, "I'm gonna kick your –"

"OUT OF MY WAY!" all of a sudden, he was easily thrown to the side by a very pissed-off Liz Thompson who just climbed up the long steps. Even the mighty Mifune and the mountain of students were quick to flee her rampaging path. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON KID, I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" she roared.

* * *

"W-What happened?" groaned Black Star as he was coming to. The first thing he saw was a cheerful Tsubaki.

"Are you okay?" she smiled.

"What's goin–" he froze upon realizing that he was having a pillow lap, meaning that his head was resting comfortably on her lap.

"Black Star, you know you shouldn't exert yourself too much. Your wounds haven't completely healed up so you're not that strong yet."

"I know... wait. What did you just say?" he was surprised by her words.

"I said, you aren't that strong yet so you should-"

He wasn't sure the first time but now, "HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?" Those same words were always said in his dreams by Tsubaki as she blamed or pitied him for not being able to save her from dying. Though it was painful, he knew it was only a dream and that the real Tsubaki wouldn't say those things or even blame him for his weakness. It seemed now that he was wrong. He was such a fool for thinking such things.

"Black Star, what's wrong?"

"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?" he cried. Tears were flowing from his eyes. "SORRY IF I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH!" he quickly got up. "DON'T TOUCH ME! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed at her and ran down the steps, crying as a boy of his age would.

Tsubaki was shocked. She looked down and found drops of his tears on her lap. She couldn't understand what had happened or why it did. She could only sit there as the boy disappeared from view.

"Black...Star?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading!... Oh right, what Kim was about to warn Tsubaki or you, the readers, is that the next chapter is going to be... slightly ecchi (I'm experimenting).. it's between Kid X Blair the Witch... you've been warned... so if you don't like that stuff (like my chief editor) you should still read it... ^^... so as to know whether I should change my rating to M or something... don't worry, it isn't going to be full-blown 18+... I think... ^_^


	6. Meow! Meow! A Cat's Conundrum! Part 1

**Author's Notes:** Good day, fellas! Sorry it took me 20 or so days... but I finally finished! However, I must ask you, my precious readers, to bare with me. Writing a light ecchi story is uncharted territory for me... So, it probably won't meet the expectations of R+ fans... Anyways, please read and enjoy!

**

* * *

Soul Eater Chronicles Episode 6: Meow! Meow! A Cat's Conundrum! Part 1**

* * *

Nightfall—Shibusen has closed up for the night and its students have all gone home. The cold wind swept across the desert once again and entered Death City. The Sniggering Moon had risen and illuminated the land with its pale glow.

Meanwhile, at the comforts of the Pumpkin House, Blair wanted to take advantage of the peaceful Saturday night by relaxing a little. After taking a long, relaxing, hot, bubble bath, there was nothing better than to finish up with an ice-cold bottle of fresh milk.

"Ah!" she sighed with content. The blend of hot and cold sent a tingling sensation throughout her body and made her go, "Kyaaah!" with excitement. Truly, this combo was the best remedy after a hard-day's-work.

With only a damp towel to cover her bare skin, she made her way into the bedroom and found Kid sleeping in perfect symmetry with the bed. She sat at the side and gave him a strong shake, "Wake up, idiot. I didn't hit you that hard, did I?" It had already been a few hours after the secrets of the Shinigami were exposed. Since then, Kid hasn't woken up. Although Blair was feeling guilty about her actions earlier, she was not to blame for the facts were these...

_

* * *

"My... if my mother... was a witch..." Kid mustered what strength he could to stand, despite the pain he was in. "If mother was a Witch Queen...then it must be true that Asura is my brother!"_

_ Those words brought to light more and more disturbing secrets about the Shinigami family. What was meant to be a strategy session became an outpour of pent-up emotion from the not-so-only son of the Shinigami himself. Meanwhile, those around could only stand in shock as to what was taking place._

_ "THAT'S A LIE!" a thunderous denial from the Shinigami shook the room with such intensity._

_ "Is it!?... Arachne took my mother's soul and fused it together with the soul of a powerful human in order to make the ultimate Demon Weapon, Asura!"_

_ "ENOUGH! HOW COULD YOU KNO-"_

_ "Shut up, old man!!!" a blasphemous decree from the boy silenced his father and all those around him. "I finally understand now! Your ignorance killed my mother and started the war with the witches! Not only that, you also took the life of Vajra. No wonder Asura went crazy. All that's happening is your fault! The madness of the First Kishin, the war with the Witches, and all those who died... were all because of your pride and arroga-"_

_SLAM!_

_ The boy fell with a heavy thud after a strong blow to the back of his head. "Sorry, Kid-kun..." whispered the witch as he blacked out. _

"Man, I really didn't see this coming," she said whilst stroking the boy's hair. "First, your dad's the Shinigami. Then, your mom's a powerful witch queen, which is unexpected but kinda cool. And now, your brother's the Kishin ..." She bent down to rest her head on his chest. "Why do I still want to be part of such a messed-up family?" she could only chuckle as the answer eluded her.

* * *

A little while later, "I'm home, nyah!" the cat cheerfully announced herself at the door. Coming from a late-night food run, she carried with her two large paper bags filled with all kinds of goodies and treats.

"Ara, she's not home?" she was surprised that Blair didn't come to greet her. "Oh well, more for me, nyah!" She placed the bags on the kitchen table and happily wolfed down a couple of steamed catnip-buns before deciding to check up on the fallen Kid.

She found the boy to be in the same state as she had left him. "Wakey-wakey, nyah!" she playfully dangled a half-eaten steamed-bun underneath his nose in hopes to arouse his hunger, but to no avail.

"Nyah, that usually works for me. But if you're a deep sleeper, then I'm gonna have to use my 'Last Resort' technique!" she declared. With the knowledge she gained from working at the Chuppa-cabras night club, she was able to develop an untested ultimate move that was sure to catch the attention of any person.

After sitting comfortably by his side, she gently touched his chest. Then, "Here I go!" she announced. Her hand slowly slid down his abdomen and unto the mountain of manhood! As she firmly grabbed the key to humanity's future, a heavy shade of red crossed her face.

_Grope! Grope!_

"I-It's growing," she blushed even more. "C-Come on... I can't do this all –"

"GAAAACK!" the boy suddenly sprang to life, only to head straight into a...

_Smooch!_

Everything happened so fast that even the lightning-quick reflexes of the magical feline were not enough to avoid it.

* * *

Meanwhile, "Did I forget to bring it with me?" Blair just got out of the bathroom wearing a dark-coloured negligee. Since Kid occupied the bedroom, she was left with no choice but to change elsewhere and thus neglected something essential. Her see-through garment showed nothing underneath.

"Such a hassle..." she sighed. On her way back to the bedroom...

"_Wow! I didn't expect that from Kid-kun! How bold! I don't think I'm ready yet, nyah!"_

"_Then stop touching me there! Wait – Don't squeeze it!"_

The sound of naughty things taking place in the bedroom prompted immediate and decisive action from a seriously pissed-off Blair.

_Boom!_

The sturdy oaken door didn't give much resistance as it was blown away, taking a huge chunk off the roof with it. As the room was filled with smoke and debris, a monstrous Blair in killer-mode appeared at the former doorway. A veil of blood-red hair covered her face in shadows, leaving only the fearsome glow of yellow eyes. "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE!?" she roared, a row of razor-sharp teeth sparkled in the moonlight.

"I-It's not my fault, nyah!" the cat panicked trying to explain the situation. But sitting astride the boy, atop the _holy_ _spot_, made her story a little doubtful...

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Okay, its a little short... but not to worry, I'll be posting the next chapter tomorrow... I purposely divided the whole arc into 2 parts for you, my readers, to savor it a bit... Oh, this mini-arc is written without the support of my beta-readers...so there might be a few inconsistent tenses and/or incorrect grammar... if you find some, please tell me... Thanks reading and don't forget to comment... ^_^


	7. Meow! Meow! A Cat's Conundrum! Part 2

**Soul Eater Chronicles Episode 7: Meow! Meow! A Cat's Conundrum! Part 2**

_

* * *

Boom!_

Almost an hour later, the cat covered up the gaping hole on the roof with a sheet of tarpaulin and even set up a temporary door from the same material. Afterwards, she took a cold shower to clear her head. It seemed that the steamed catnip-buns she ate had some weird side effects. Not only couldn't she control her actions, but she actually wanted to do some pretty mature things with him.

"But that's all over now, nyah!"

Meanwhile, Blair was cooling off with a small meal of milk and bread. She was still angry at both of them. The reason was because she was jealous. She knew it, she admitted it, and she accepted it. She was not the type to deny things nor was she the type to kill-off the competitions. In fact, she welcomed the challenge.

"I won't lose to anyone," she decided.

She re-entered the bedroom and found Kid sleeping soundly in perfect symmetry with the bed. It was like earlier except for the fact that it wasn't a heavy blow, but a powerful sonic blast that knocked him unconscious.

"You aren't awake, are you?" she asked, cautiously sitting by his side. A low grunt assured her of his undisturbed slumber.

"Well then, you're mine again, boy," she whispered. Puckering up, she slowly bent down to reclaim her most cherished plaything.

* * *

Some time passed by and soon a secret spectator was getting impatient. "Nyah, it's been thirty minutes and you still aren't making a move? Your slow, Okami-sama," sighed the cat as she peeked from the doorway. Initially, she was just enjoying an evening snack in the kitchen, but it didn't take long for her curiosity to get the better of her.

"You can thank me later for this, Okami-sama." A mischievous smile appeared on her lips as she recited the incantation _Pumpumkin-Pumkin!_

At the same time, Blair was trying to plant one yet she could not even make it half-way. For some reason, she felt too embarrassed to kiss him. It was strange. Had it been a month earlier, she would've done it without any hesitation. But now, the very thought of getting too close to his face would already make her flush red.

"I can't do it," she groaned in defeat; her head resting on his chest. While she reconsidered her actions, Kid slowly opened his eyes. They were dull and lifeless. He was in a trance. The spell invoked was quite similar to that of hypnosis, though the difference was that the person needed to be sound asleep for the spell to take effect.

Gently stroking her back, Kid whispered to her, "Are you asleep?"

"Mmm...No, I'm just – You're awake!?"

"Yeah, but my head hurts a bit," he happily chuckled.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!?" she looked away, puffing her cheeks. "Now get out! I need to sleep."

"Aww, you don't have to be so mean," he grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her unto the bed.

"What do you think you're doing!?" she gasped as the boy pinned her down.

"You know, you look much cuter in this position," he said with such a sweet smile that Blair couldn't help but blush even more.

"Don't say such embarrassing things, you idiot! I am not your-"

_CHU!!!_

A surprise kiss caught her off guard. Blair tried to push him off; but for some reason, her strength slowly vanished and left her struggling to endure Kid's sweet lips.

_Damn it, Kid-kun...doing me so deep... I can't... feels like I'm melting... Wait! Tongue!_

With that, Blair learned two more secrets of the universe. One, a superb French kiss required great skill and years of experience. Two, Death the Kid was a master of French kisses! Then as the kiss finally ended, a silver line of love juice connected their tongues; all the more reason for Blair to blush in embarrassment.

"What's the matter? Your body's shivering like crazy. Could it be that my kiss has softened you up?" he grinned.

"S-Shut...up..." she could barely speak. Her mind was going numb and her body kept twitching as waves of pleasure surged throughout. Then, "Ah!" she moaned ever so sweetly as the boy kissed her neck a few times. Afterwards, he fondled her breasts with both hands. This, in turn, sent waves and waves of pleasure coursing through her body for he would squeeze them tightly, release, and then gently massage them. It was the back and forth exchange of pleasure and pain that seemed to excite her even more.

"D-cup, eh? It must say, it's quite proportional to your body," he complimented and then proceeded to peel off the layer of cloth that barred him from reaching the holy gates of adulthood! Blair was about ready to die from embarrassment when the boy slowly pulled down her towel.

* * *

"NYAAAH! PUMPKIN CANNON!"

_BOOM!_

The room was briefly filled with smoke after the boy was sent flying through the air and hitting the wall.

"Nyah, I'm so sorry, Okami-sama!" the magical feline quickly got on her knees and bowed repeatedly. "The spell got a little carried away and – I didn't mean it, nyah!"

"SO THAT WAS ALL YOUR DOING, WAS IT?" the fearsome visage of death and destruction reared its head once more. Claws, fangs, wings and all!

"I didn't mean it, nyah!" the cat could only cry her tears out in the face of certain doom.

_KA-BOOM!_

* * *

Tomorrow, it would soon be broadcasted in the news of how a sudden 5.2 magnitude quake rocked the peaceful night of Death City. It would also be reported on how several late-nighters claim that whatever caused it came from somewhere outside the city. Although since most of the witnesses were drunk at the time, there were conflicting reports on whether it was a beautiful ray of light or a gigantic mushroom cloud of death.

But before that, there was an abrupt late-night visit at Kid's mansion.

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

The door opened and a pajama-clad Patty greeted the visitors. "Yay! Kid-kun is back!" she cheerfully gave the boy a tight hug.

"I don't know what happened...but I need a place to stay," he blushed as Patty's big, bouncy breasts were pressed against his body.

"This is your house, Kid-kun! You're always-"

"You got some nerve showing your face again after what you did to me!" an angry Liz appeared behind her wearing the same Chibi-Kid-kun-inspired nightwear.

"I'm sorry for whatever he did, nyah! But our house was destroyed so please let us stay here!" the humbled feline pleaded to Liz. Meanwhile her Okami-sama stood a short distant away, her pride preventing her from doing such things.

"Wow! Kid-kun is getting excited!" giggled Patty as she felt something digging between her thighs.

"I am not! Let go off me!" he struggled to free himself.

"Please let us stay, nyah!"

"Heck no! This isn't your house!"

"It's Kid-kun's, so they can stay!"

"Don't decide things on your own, Patty!"

"Fu-Fu-Fu...We're so many here so let's start a harem! A harem!"

"Y-You don't know what you're talking about! Stop it!"

"What's a harem, nyah?"

"What the - Don't touch me there, Patty! Get off me! Get off me!"

* * *

In the end, though many words were spoken, Kid and friends were able to stay in the mansion. More importantly, it was still unclear on whatever happened to the harem proposal. However, only Kid can tell what goes on behind those closed doors...

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for reading... Please feel free to leave any comment or suggestion that would help me better myself in writing stories of such genre... ^^


	8. Recap 1

**Episode 8: Recap 1**

* * *

For those that have forgotten a whole deal about the series, here a 2 part recap on the whole "Soul Eater Chronicles" series... please enjoy! P.S: The entire series is based on the Anime and not the Manga...

**

* * *

Soul Eater Chronicles: Return of the Witch**

This takes place three months after the defeat of Asura, the First Kishin. It started all well and good with the first ever, "Kishin's Defeat Party!" As the party gets a little silly and a little out of control, Death the Kid gets an invitation by a secret admirer and heads off to meet her.

Meanwhile, Soul and Black Star follow with intent to beat him up but instead, the two boys discover that the mystery girl is a witch who then kid-naps, no pun intended, Kid. The students of Shibusen sensed her and rushed off to confront the enemy but were too late. As the witch flies off with her target, Maka sees that her witch soul has two protruding wings.

The next morning, Kid awakens atop the ruins of Baba Yaga's castle. There, he confronted the witch, who called herself Blair, and the Mizune Family. Unfortunately, he ended up in their trap and is forcefully resonated with the hundreds of wicked souls left after Asura died.

Much later, Maka and the gang finally arrived at the scene in a helicopter piloted by Sid. They found an unconscious Kid and the lone witch, Blair. Almost immediately, they attack after being provoked by the brazen foe.

Despite having expert skills and tons of experience on their side, they still got their butts handed to them. In the end, Blair had the upper hand with her superior evasive manoeuvres and swift counters. It was only through an incident of her own causing that defeated her.

Anyway, after they brought Kid to the infirmary in Shibusen, he slipped into a coma. In his dreams, he saw Arachne and was confronted by none other than Asura, the First Kishin.

Meanwhile, Blair the Witch was locked up in chains in the school dungeon. There, she used her special ability of Echolocation and mapped the entire school underground before being taken to the Death Room where the Shinigami and the Death Scythes questioned her plans and motives.

After falling to the Dreaded Itchy Nose torture, Blair told them of the Witch Queen, Mabaa's desire for a new eye to replace the one she lost. But not just any eye would do, she wanted the eye of Asura's weapon, Vajra. The weapon was lost in the ruins of Baba Yaga so Blair had to 'borrow' Kid in order to use his Soul Perception to look for it or so she claimed.

After this, the Shinigami had to strike a deal with the witch in order to release his son from the coma. She held her part of the bargain and Kid slowly woke up after she kissed him on the lips.

In the last chapter, a public trial was held for Blair the Witch. As she was about to be sentenced to death, Maka, Soul, Chrona, Marie and Stein readied themselves for the worst. All of a sudden, the serious Shinigami turned into his wacky self and introduced Blair de Valesti to the entire school via television as the newest student of Shibusen. The whole student body rejoiced with the addition of a beauty whilst the lead characters could only stare in shock.

**

* * *

Soul Eater Chronicles: Broken Resonance**

This started off somewhere in the desert near Death City. Blair the Cat headed home after a long day's work, but found someone had broken into her house. It was none other than Blair de Valesti. The cat was confused at first, but through a series of helpful flashbacks, she was able to recognize the woman as her long lost owner; hence explained the origin of her name.

It was a happy reunion, although the cat soon realized how her beloved mistress enjoyed teasing her with playful hints of yuri-ism as seen when she suggested they 'sleep' together when there was only one bed.

The next morning, Blair the Cat awoke in the arms of her beloved mistress. They were spooning. Immediately, she transformed into her feral form and leaped away to safety. Unlike her teasing of Soul, the cat found it difficult to handle being teased by a fellow female especially if it was her owner.

Anyway, after some commotion, the two girls went off to attend their very first day in Shibusen. Blair de Valesti was wearing the cat's witchy attire whilst her pet went looking like any other black cat. The latter complained the need of her presence only to be answered with, "a true witch needs a familiar."

In the third and last chapter, Blair diligently studies her lessons whilst her cat slept on her lap. The meisters and weapons of the school were surprised by her risky choice of clothing. Her dressing up like a witch in Shibusen was like dangling meat in front of a lion. Nevertheless, this showed them that she was bold and fearless, which they were also impressed with.

After class, Stein organized a test battle between Blair and Black Star. Meanwhile, the absence of Chrona prompted Maka and Soul to head underground in search of her. Elsewhere, Death the Kid soared across the cerulean skies on his skateboard to a destination unknown.

With the three main leads heading off into different places, this saga ended and would start anew with a tri-saga storyline. These three arcs were entitled, "Dark Path of the Stars" for the Black Star arc, "Weapons of Fate" for the Soul and Maka story arc, and finally, "Twilight of the Gods" story arc for Death the Kid.


	9. Recap 2

**Episode 9: Recap 2**

* * *

This is part 2 of a short recap on the whole "Soul Eater Chronicles" series... please enjoy!

**

* * *

Soul Eater Chronicles: Dark Path of the Stars**

The saga started with the showdown between Black Star and Blair the Witch. With the fight taking place right in front of the school, it wasn't any wonder that the students, even the Shinigami and his Death Scythes were drawn to watch. To give an added effect of awesomeness, Patty played various songs via the intercom to serve as the background battle music.

The two fighters fought head-on in unarmed combat. Black Star would utilize his skills as a ninja like creating mirror-duplicates of himself, whilst Blair would use her Echolocation ability to accurately predict his attacks. For a while, the upper hand frequently shifted from him to her. It was only through the use of Tsubaki's Fey Blade Mode that Black Star finally ended the fight.

However, it was also through this method that he conceded and Blair was fully accepted as a true student of Shibusen.

Defeated and humiliated, Black Star focused into honing his skills by hunting down the last remnants of Arachnophobia. Together with Tsubaki, he managed to track them down to the outskirts of a town somewhere near the Czechoslovakian border. As to be expected from him, he showed them no mercy after learning about Mosquito's whereabouts in Paris. However, he went a little overboard and ended up killing an innocent man.

Fearful of the consequences, he hid the accident from his partner, Tsubaki. Although on their way to the City of Lights, the magic of guilt turned him emo and this greatly worried her. In any case, it was thanks to this event that Tsubaki was able to get a little closer to Black Star.

In Paris, they took in some sights and even met Napoleon. As they did this, Maka and the rest of the gang fought valiantly against Mosquito. It was futile though. The whole team got separated for various reasons and only Blair was left to face him. Here, she revealed her magic-affinity towards sound and almost succeeded in destroying Mosquito had it not been for Black Star's over-the-top entrance...

**

* * *

Soul Eater Chronicles: Weapons of Fate**

The story started off with Chrona in one of the underground quarters below Shibusen. As she lamented about how pitiful her existence had been reduced to, loud footsteps were heard from outside. Out of curiosity, she went to the steel door to check only for it to suddenly burst open and rudely introduce itself to her face. She was down, but not out for she quickly initiated a valiant effort of self-defence that is to say she curled into a ball and covered her face.

"Chrona, I-I'm so sorry. It's gonna be okay now, I'm here for you." Thankfully, the familiar voice of Maka Albarn was enough to revive the fallen girl. While these two good friends were catching up with one another, Soul lay on the cold floor outside. It would appear that the steel door also swung back to say hello to him.

Anyway, in the course of their conversations, Chrona explained that her weapon was "gone". She did not explicate any further to Maka's disappointment. It would only be revealed later that Ragnarok had not recovered from the fatal blow of Medusa and was inadvertently killed by Blair. Maka could only comfort her friend by inviting her over as her roomie. She gladly accepted of course.

As their friendship flourished, Soul quietly stayed at the sidelines, unaware that the relationship would bloom far better than wanted. This was made apparent in Paris when they were fighting Mosquito.

In the fighting, Chrona fell into the icy waters of the Seine River. Maka immediately jumped in after her and both ended up succumbing to the cold. It was only through the intervention of Free, Eruka and Mizune that the two girls were saved. However, Maka was still unconscious. Her pulse was getting weaker and weaker. Chrona knew what she had to do...

Meanwhile, Soul scoured the riverbanks and was able to spot them. Unfortunately, he got there just as Chrona performed CPR and mouth-to-mouth. Shocked as he was, Soul couldn't utter a single word of protest even as they got back together to battle Mosquito for one last time.

Although, it wasn't long before Maka realized she was fighting a losing battle against Mosquito because everyone else except Blair was knocked out in the fighting. In a desperate bid for victory, Maka had to rely on the witch and this newfound partnership had explosive results. The blood-born abilities of Maka that stemmed from her meister-weapon parentage were re-activated. However, just like the last time, she was sleep-fighting. She utilized the multiple scythe-blades appearing from her body and defeated Mosquito.

It was at this moment that several witches appeared and, with the aid of Blair, they were able to take the vampire soul from Maka. An hour later, the whole team was heading home aboard the Death Copter. Unaware of Blair's treachery, they only assumed that Mosquito got away somehow...

**

* * *

Soul Eater Chronicles: Twilight of the Gods**

Baba Yaga's Castle—acting on a theory, Death the Kid went alone. He tried to sneak closer to the crumbling ruin in hopes of confirming his suspicions, but a surprise attack from Free and Eruka forced him out into the open. He sped across the sea of trees and made his way towards the castle while Eruka, aboard Tadpole Johnson, dropped bombs unto him and Free shot out pillars of ice from below.

In an effort to stop him, Free used much of his strength and power to summon a gigantic ice pillar to block his way. But, Kid did not stop. In fact, he did the opposite and accelerated even faster. He surprised Free and Eruka when he rode his board vertically up the 90 degree slope.

Once on top, he had but a few moments to rest and reconsider his strategy before being fired upon by Free's Demon Eye Cannon. He tried to fly towards Baba Yaga's Castle but the strong winds and magical ice attacks kept him at bay. To add to his dilemma, he had no means to defend himself or to call for help. He was in quite a pickle. He knew that it wasn't long before he would finally meet his end.

It was in this time of frustration that strange voices slowly drove him to commit terrible things such as killing off Tadpole Johnson whilst leaving Eruka almost falling to her doom. Nevertheless, it was through these things that Kid was able to reach the castle.

There he was confronted by the Mizune Witch in her full form. She had no intention to fight, instead she offered him to join their little merry band and serve Blair de Valesti. Naturally, he refused and was beaten down by Free.

For the sake of avenging Tadpole Johnson, Free was so savage and was so brutal in his assault that Kid nearly died. It was only through the intervention of Asura that Kid was able to survive. The First Kishin curbed the blood-lust of the werewolf with powerful illusions of a monstrous Kid. By the time Free was released from it, Blair had already arrived to reclaim the fallen shinigami.

Anyway, whilst his body lay sleeping in the safety of the Pumkin House, Kid went to the depths of his own soul to confront Asura. There it was revealed that Asura was able to take full control of Kid's body for brief periods of time. This was evident when Asura controlled Kid to destroy the ultimate weapon, Excalibur, and consume its soul.

In the course of their shotgun partnership, it was revealed that the Kishin was only defeat by Maka's Ultimate Punch of Courage because he became so scared of her incessant 'yapping' to the extent that he was scared out of his body. He also revealed that his presence was due to Blair's failed attempt to summon Vajra those many weeks ago.

Furthermore, Asura kept calling him, 'brother' and even explained the reason of his existence. He claimed that he started off as the good son but could not meet the expectations of the Shinigami. He suffered for it and so did his first love, Vajra. It was because of this that bitterness and fear transformed him into the first ever Kishin.

In any case, Asura led his brother back to the Baba Yaga Castle to claim the hidden soul of the powerful witch, Arachne. This resulted to the full connection of one of Kid's Sanzu lines, empowering him further...


	10. Love Triangles Never End Well

**Episode 10: Love Triangles Never End Well**

* * *

December 21, 2009 — Three days 'til the eve of Xmas. With a shopping bag in hand, Maka skipped merrily down the empty streets of Death City whilst whistling a happy tune.

Strangely enough, while her friends were down and gloomy with their personal early-life crisis and her other classmates were struggling to accept their existence as mere 'extras', Maka was having an upbeat attitude. Nobody understood why this was so, but her ultra-positive outlook in life was enough to arouse the ire of others so much so that strange rumours began circulating amongst the student body about how she was taking in some sort of illegal meds like powerful anti-depressants or something.

"Hey, what's wrong with you? Are you hooked-up or something? Do you need help?"

Those were the frequent questions she received, yet she paid them no head for she knew that stirring up a hornet's nest would only bring more trouble. Besides, they wouldn't understand even if they found out. People nowadays; not that many are as open-minded as one would think.

Forbidden. Star-crossed. Shojo-ai. These are just some of the things that would describe her secret relationship with Chrona. Indeed, not many would readily accept such a thing and the very thought of being discovered would be scandalous. Imagine. The legendary Maka, defeater of Asura and daughter to two very respec— a well respected meister and a Death Scythe, was found to have an affair with the weird Chrona, spawn of the wicked witch Medusa. Ah, won't the paparazzi have a field day with that one. Not only will Shibusen would lose its credibility as an elite institution, but the Shinigami would have to answer some very difficult questions. A re-evaluation would also be in order. There would be background checks on the faculty and staff. Needless to say, everyone's name would be dragged through the mud. A little exaggerated? Yes. But this would only be the calm before the storm for how would the whole world react when the bringer of death and destruction was tied by blood to the Shinigami himself? Pitchforks anyone?

Nevertheless, Maka was willing to risk it all. Yes, it has also been a tough couple of weeks for her, but those secret late-night forays into the underground quarters of Shibusen have made it all bearable.

_

* * *

Creak..._

The door slowly opened as she attempted to sneak into the pitch-black apartment. It was a quarter past eleven and she had promised Soul earlier that she'd be home by nine after shopping with some friends.

_Creak...Creak...Creeaak!_

"Crap." Alas, it would seem that even the very floor boards were going against her today. She tried desperately to muffle the sound, but it was all in vain for the second she entered, the lights flipped on and there sat a disappointed Soul. His reaction in the ensuing scene was likened to an overly-worried dad while Maka played the role of the rebellious child.

"It's eleven o' clock! Where've you been!" he bellowed.

"Out... I was out shopping."

"Alone? At this time of night? Are you nuts!"

"I was with someone! That's alright, isn't it!"

"Y-You were..." Soul found it difficult to speak after hearing those words, "...whatever," he decided to drop the whole thing and walked out.

With the abrupt exit of her companion, Maka was left wondering what had possessed him to act in such a way. Nonetheless, she knew Soul was the type of guy whose idiocy surfaces from time to time so she assumed the recent change in attitude was merely a phase.

Well, on a lighter note, Maka was looking forward to the 24th as she held a velvet red dress against the mirror. "I really hope this'll fit her," she smiled. Meanwhile, somewhere in the desolate wasteland surrounding Death City, a familiar face returns. Though sounding a bit clichéd, the sudden flashes of lightning were forewarnings of dark times ahead... a storm was coming...

* * *

The following Tuesday morning, a gloomy day greeted the students of Shibusen. It was to be expected from the chilly month of December as the Panting Sun showed little interest in gracing the land with its presence. It would only hide in recluse behind banks of dark clouds while the people below fell prey to the cold, merciless winds.

However, the students seemed unaffected by the mood-dampening weather as they went about their daily activities with youthful exuberance. Unlike the previous, today was a special day.

"Okay, as you all know, today is the last day of class!" Sid's announcement was met with thunderous cheers and applause from the students, "Okay, everybody settle down. Now, on the 24th, we'll be celebrating the first ever Xmas-ween party. The party will be on the stone grounds and will start at seven o' clock, so come in your best attire or outfit. Got it?" And that's how their class ended in high spirits.

* * *

With the festive mood coming back in full swing, LOVE was also in the air for the upcoming party would also herald a special couple's dance and not to mention that romantic something under the mistletoe; thus begged the question: "Who are you going with?"

"No one. I'm gonna be very busy," was Blair's response to the disappointment of many students.

"Black Star," was Tsubaki's pick even though there was zero communication between them since he took off weeks ago without so much as an explanation.

"Maka," was the obvious answer for Soul. Yet with last night's spat fresh in his mind, he couldn't bring himself to face her especially now that she had already started swinging _that_ way. The fact that his enemy, his rival for love, was someone whom he couldn't face with brute strength peeved him to no end. And on the chance encounter that he caught them looking at one another, smiling, blushing, and then looking away—oh, how his heart ached!

"I have to do something!" he clenched his fist in determination. Soul did not lose heart and he still believed that he had a chance. He couldn't lose Maka. That's why he had to do something and quick before she'd be lost forever. Thus, the direct approach...

He turned to her and said, "Hey Maka, will you go-"

* * *

"MAKA!" Kid's voice rang throughout the room.

"EH!" was the immediate reaction of the students upon seeing Death the Kid in the middle of the classroom. He walked towards the dysfunctional couple and stopped short of their desk. In an added twist, he suddenly bent down on one knee and offered his hand to Maka. "Will you go with me to the dance on Xmas Eve?" he asked in a polite, yet firm voice.

"EEEEEHHHHH!"

Seeing as how he caught her off-guard, Kid didn't give her a chance to respond with a NO for he immediately targeted her _weakness_.

"Or," he smiled, "were you already planning to go with someone else?" He rolled his eyes, not towards Soul, but to a certain lavender-haired girl.

* * *

At that moment, Maka's chest tightened. Having realized that Kid knew, she feared the consequences that would arise if the secret were to be made known to the whole class. She was not embarrassed, mind you. It's just that she was a bit uncertain on being called the L-word. She liked Chrona a lot, but not to the extent as to jump ship right away. Long story short, Maka wasn't _that_ ready for a long time commitment. Anyway, there was a strange look in Kid's eyes that left no doubt in her mind that he might actually do such a cruel thing.

"I-I have no plans...I'd be happy to go with you," her fake smile fooled everyone including Chrona.

"Excellent. I'll be looking forward to it," Kid bowed like a gentleman and promptly exited as the school bell rang. He was automatically followed by Liz and Patty.

"W-Wah...What just happened?" Soul sputtered in confusion. Although it happened right before his eyes, he still couldn't believe it. Aside from being rudely interrupted, he was pawned...


	11. Fatal Attraction

**Episode 11: Fatal Attraction**

* * *

"Hey! What kind of a stunt are you trying to pull, punk!" Soul cornered Kid at the stairway and slammed his fist against the wall so as to imitate the stereotypical bully. He spoke in a low, intimidating voice and even scowled just to appear menacing.

"What are you talking about?" Kid replied, maintaining his composure.

"Don't play dumb with me," he grabbed him by the collar, "What's the deal asking Maka out like that! Why didn't you just go with the twins like you normally do!"

"I asked her out, so what? Is there something wrong with that?"

"Yeah, there is!" he spat. "You don't go around stealing your friend's girlfriend!"

"Really?" he gave him a quizzical look. Then, with a sarcastic smile, "So shouldn't Chrona be telling me this?"

"Y-You... so you know..." Soul unwittingly admitted the unfortunate affair. "Does anyone else know about it?"

"Nobody knows," he said. Then he leaned over, making sure no one else heard him, "Don't worry. I already have a plan to make her go straight again."

"Plan? What are you gonna do? Break them up or something?"

"Something like that," he smiled.

It was at this moment that Soul saw the same dark look that Maka saw earlier. "Look. Whatever you're planning, leave Maka out of it. Okay?" he said as he looked away. "She already had one idiot in her life. She doesn't need another one."

"I see. So in other words, it was your stupidity that drove her towards Chrona."

"What!"

"Don't worry. I'll just tie her to my bedpost and make her see the light."

Soul immediately slammed him against the wall, "What the hell did you say!" he shouted, creating a bigger commotion and attracting crowds of bored students who were eager for a show.

"Nothing," Kid said out loud, and then he whispered, "She'll be so busy screaming my name...after I'm done with her, she won't even remember who you are anymore. Isn't that great?" he grinned maniacally upon seeing his reaction of horror and hatred.

* * *

Elsewhere, Maka and Chrona were walking down the hallway. While Chrona held nothing but her notes, Maka held on to extremely large tome just to cover what-appeared-to-be a parcel, presumably her Xmas present. Anyway, the latter had just finished explaining herself towards the depressed former.

"Okay, I understand," said Chrona. "I'm sorry I overacted a little."

"It's okay, Chrona. You don't have to apologize. You could never do anything wrong to me," smiled Maka.

Chrona smiled back, blushing. "T-Thanks...um, so why do you think Kid asked you out?"

"I don't know. I'm surprised with that myself. He usually doesn't take interest in anything that isn't related to symmetry."

"Well, maybe he saw how beautiful you really are."

Her compliment was enough to make Maka turn beet-red. "Thank you, Chrona. But I don't know. There was something off about him. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm not sure he's himself."

"How can you tell?"

"Well, for starters, Kid isn't the type to go around making a scene like that. That's usually Black Star's doing. Second, Kid is the most honourable person I know. He wouldn't blackmail anyone into doing anything like your moth-err-Medusa did. Third, why me of all people? There are other girls in the class that are prettier like Kim, Jacqueline and even Blair. Fourth, Kid is-" Maka stopped there when she realized how her words seemed to awaken the green-eyed monster within Chrona.

"Wow... you sure know a lot about Kid," she could only say. Yes, that was true. Quite suspicious, one might say.

"N-No, t-that's not true," blushing as she denied. "I only read a lot so I-"

* * *

"_FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"_

"What the heck?" The rhythmic chanting of blood-thirsty students caught the attention of the two girls.

_SMACK!_

With one punch, the crowd went wild upon seeing Death the Kid slide across the marble-tiled floor. Soul was on him like white on rice. Punching his face like there was no tomorrow, Soul had gone berserk. Nothing could stop him now...

"MAKA CHOP!"

...except for that. For a crushing finale, Maka had to leap meters above him to deliver her attack in a similar fashion to that of Sid's Living End, but with something far heavier than a tombstone. "Soul, you idiot! What're you doing starting a fight in school!"

"..." The crowds gave a moment of silence to the very first victim of what was then known as the new and improved, "Maka-Chop! Beta version!"

"I'm still alive!" With an incredible burst of energy, Soul managed to cast off the massive book that planted him so and moved about as though it didn't even faze him. Although the crimson streams of life coming from his head told otherwise.

"Idiot! You shouldn't go around hitting people with that thing! What are you, a lunatic!"

"Baka! You shouldn't go around doing something stupid like this!"

"Shut up and just mind your own business, flat-chest!"

"I'm trying to do what's best for you! Moron!"

* * *

The two argued like the odd couple they were until Maka finally realized what had started it all. "Kid-kun, are you alright?" she said, tending to the poor boy, who should've healed completely at this point.

"Maka! Get away from that guy! He's dangerous!" Soul quickly turned his arm into a scythe-blade and began pointing at him.

"Dangerous! You're the one with the blade here!"

"Get away from him! He's planning to tie you up and do bad things to you!"

"_OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!"_

The students immediately reacted to the news. For instance, "Totally S&M!", "How Ecchi!", and "AWESOME!" were the initial responses of the people. It didn't take long before rumours began to circulate throughout the school that Kid and Maka were secretly a couple and that they were already _that_ far advanced in their relationship. Many even questioned the innocence of the two kids, IF they were still kids, that is.

* * *

But for now, the legendary "Maka-Chop! Beta version!" went through the whole Greek alphabet until there wasn't anything left of Soul but a hole in the ground. After seeing such a merciless display of strength, the crowds of students immediately dispersed in fears of being caught in the crossfire.

"M-Maka, are you alright?" asked the quivering Chrona.

The terrifying Maka slowly turned to her and, "Of course, I'm fine. Why do you ask, Chrona?" Her twitching-smile was quite obviously forced.

"I-I'm sorry," the ever fearful Chrona retreated to a safe distance.

"Wait!" Maka tried to run after her, but a sudden tug made her to stay.

Kid was holding on to her sleeve. "Maka," he said with a sad and painful look on his face. He, then, apologized for the trouble that was caused. Though, as sincere as he was, Maka wasn't fooled one bit.

"Kid," she said blankly. "What Soul said earlier, is it true?"

Seeing no point in maintaining the facade, "The truth is..." Kid looked upon Maka with serious eyes.

Maka was shocked beyond belief. And, as the whole world came to a standstill over those words, she could only hear the loud beating of her own heart...

_Doki! Doki! Doki!_

"...I love you, Maka."


	12. Wishful Thinking

**Episode 12: Wishful Thinking**

* * *

"...I love you, Maka."

These words would make just about any girl feel happy and special. And, for a young lady whose heart isn't used to such confessions, the effects would be understandably overwhelming.

Fortunately, Maka wasn't a lady...

"MAKA-CHOP!"

The heavy tome was swung with breakneck speed. Though the boy tried to block with both arms, the force proved too great that the book broke through his forearms and still splattered him across the marble floor.

"What have you done! You killed him!" Blair appeared from out of nowhere, shrieking.

"T-That's impossible! I-I can't... the Maka-chop isn't that strong to-"

* * *

"The truth is..." Kid looked upon Maka with serious eyes.

_What?_

It was like waking up from a daydream, Maka found herself standing before the boy, who was still very much alive.

"The truth is...I love, Chrona."

"What happened? Didn't I just kill- Kid, are you alright?" Scared and confused, the poor girl looked around in disbelief of the world. "Wait- What did you say again!"

Kid chuckled, surprised with her silly reaction, "I'm your love rival, Maka. I love Chrona just as much as you do."

"Eh?" Maka stared at him for a few seconds before suddenly bursting into laughter.

* * *

"Mmm? What's so funny?" he couldn't understand. After declaring himself as a rival, the expected reaction from Maka would most likely be a violent one. Instead, the girl was so happy and relieved that she was laughing herself to tears. Could it be that she was actually mocking him? Had he already lost before the competition began?

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Ha, ha, ha..." Maka tried to calm herself down. Kid looked on as she slowly took in several deep breaths before a pat on the shoulder affirmed, "I accept. I'm happy to be your rival, Kid."

"I'm glad to hear it. But before you go, you dropped this," he presented her with something. Wrapped in dark paper, the parcel was her Xmas gift to Chrona. He explained that she dropped it during the assault on Soul. "It's for her, isn't it?" he smiled.

"Yeah... Um, thanks," she said, a bit embarrassed.

"Don't mention it. But just so you know, I won't be holding back."

"Neither will I," she said, showing him that dedicated face she was known for.

And so, as the two contenders parted ways, the bond of rivalry was formed.

* * *

However, when Maka vanished from sight, so did Kid's happy smile.

"You didn't have to do that," he spoke in an ever so serious tone.

_I don't want that girl to be involved any further..._

The ghostly voice of Asura came from all around him.

"Why? Are you afraid?"

_...Yes... but make no mistake about it... I will kill her if you stray from the plan..._

"I understand," he sadly replied. Deep inside though, Kid was all smiles now that a definite weakness has been discovered. You see, having the ability to reside within Kid's soul meant that the only sure way to defeat Asura was to kill Kid—a prospect that he finds to be somewhat disagreeable. But due to recent developments, it would seem that some things never do change. Asura was still the cowardly kishin he was before. So, all that Kid needed now was for the right opportunity to present itself...

* * *

"What going on?" said Blair.

He flinched upon hearing her voice. He sharply turned around and saw the curious witch descending from the stairs. She was together with Patty, whilst Liz was nowhere to be seen.

"That was really weird," Patty giggled.

Kid was so surprised by the sudden appearance that the hair on the back of his head stood straight and that his heart could not calm down. Did they hear him speak to Asura? If they figured out his dark secret, what will happen now? He didn't know. He could only assume the worst.

At first, Kid braced himself for an attack from the powerful witch. Even inside sanctity of Shibusen, Kid knew that she was quite capable of unleashing her power at will. He also knew what would happen if Asura were to take over in retaliation.

But instead, "Indeed. What just happened, Kid?" Blair narrowed her eyes into slits. "You confessed to her and she does nothing but stare at you for two minutes. What's up with that?"

"I-I…" he paused upon realizing the question. It appears his fears were unfounded. They knew nothing! So, he quickly composed himself and replied with feign ignorance, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

* * *

"I see," she wasn't convinced with such a lame excuse, but decided not to push it any further because she could smell fear. Rather, she could hear it from the boy's beating heart. Well, she could understand that perhaps being too awesome can frighten other people but not once has she ever considered that on Kid.

In all her research about him, there was never a time that he expressed fear. Although there were those times when he would freak out because of something unsymmetrical, but those do not count. She couldn't understand why the boy was so afraid. This was concerning since his heart produced such a beautiful rhythm the likes of which she had only heard from those confronting death.

With such bizarre circumstances and Kid's odd behavior, she couldn't help but feel that something bad was about to take place. So, after he left, Blair immediately asked Patty the whereabouts of her sister. The young girl pointed to the library and recalled that earlier Kid had asked Liz to look for a book regarding exorcism.

* * *

"Exorcism? Why would—Did he say what it was for?"

"Nope," Patty replied. She only explained that there was a bit of weirdness just like earlier. You see, Liz was furious at him for something he did to her. Then as Kid apologized, Liz suddenly turned quiet and just stood there staring at him for some time. She was only able to snap out of it when she (Patty) grew bored of the silence and held a mirror against the boy's face to really point out the unsymmetrical deformity that was his hair. What followed next was a half-hour long monologue of shame and despair that Patty found to be hilarious.

"I see," Blair frowned. Except for the last part, Kid was already showing a lot of out-of-character behavior. It was most troublesome because ever since he did that "My brother's Asura" drama, the Shinigami has been a bit on edge. So he placed a lot of security measures around the city in the event of an attack, mere child's play to disable but annoying nonetheless. Regardless, he was NOT allowed to screw up her plans anymore.

"Patty, why don't you go to the library and find that book for me, okay?"

"Okay!" she smiled, "Kid will be happy again when we give it to him."

* * *

"Yes," The thought of the poor boy laying in anguish as all his plans were crushed before him. With those flushed cheeks and flowing tears, he'd look up to her and weep. _A totally MOE!MOE! moment!_ Her heart raced as she pictured that instant as she'd kneel down and hold him against her chest. To take advantage of him in such a weak and defenseless state was much more satisfying than that of him in such a fearful one. Blair could hardly contain her anticipation. Yes, it was a little sadistic. But for him to ignore such a hottie like her and to confess to another girl right in front of her was UNACCEPTABLE! "I can't wait to see the look on his face," she licked her lips and grinned with glee.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Hey there, folks! I'm back again with another new chapter! I should have posted this weeks ago, but I tried experimenting with various writing styles and ended up with this one. So what do you think? Did I do better or worse? Or was there no real change? I really want to know so please leave a comment and/or a question and I'll be happy to answer them. Thank you!


	13. Parting of Old Friends!

**Soul Eater Chronicles Episode 13: Parting of Old Friends!**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow, to have multiple views and comments only a day after my post... *sniff* I am touched. Though I'm a guy, I still feel like shedding a tear or two... Anyways, thank you all for your support! So here's a NEW Chapter! Please read and enjoy!

* * *

"What the heck was her problem?" grumbled a bruised and battered Soul as he staggered along the hallway. He distinctly remembered arguing with Maka over something important before an all too familiar reaction ensued and made everything go dark.

"Wow! This place is really big! It's even bigger than that spider-place!" the voice of a child echoed throughout the empty hall. Soul turned around and saw two people heading towards him. One was a small young girl dressed in a witch costume, while the other was a grown man in his mid-20s. In contrast to her colorful attire, the man's clothes were bland and shabby. The only thing worth noting about this person was the word 'OSAMURAI' emblazed on the left breast of his sweatshirt—THAT and the fact that he was holding a katana. Though it was safely sealed in a scabbard made of strong lacquered wood, it was still something to behold and be cautious of. It was at this moment that Soul felt as though he should already know this long-haired person. Perhaps Black Star mentioned him once, he wasn't sure.

Anyway, since he had never seen a pre-schooler within the main campus, Soul could only assume that the man was the girl's father, an alumni maybe, and that she was being shown around.

Truly enough, the young lass ran from door to door, eagerly wanting to see the inside of every classroom she came upon. With such vigorous actions, she was likened to a ball of energy just bouncing around the place. Seeing such an adventurous personality, Soul couldn't help but smile. This greatly reminded him of the childhood he once had.

Just then, the little girl noticed him, a strange man looking at her with a weird grin on his face. With this, it was quite understandable that she screamed, "PERVERT!" and then...

_

* * *

WHACK!_

Only a second was needed for Soul to realize what had happened before he, "AAAAAAAAAAAH!" bent over and curled up in agony. Just like Black Star, Soul had also been brought down by a kick to his precious man-parts. "Whack in the sack", "the blow down low", it's called by many names. But the facts were these: a wicked assault on something so poor, innocent, fragile and defenseless as the twins was nothing short of evil! Sacrilege! Blasphemy! No word could truly express the outright murder of morality that occurred when Soul was forced to stare into the abyss of impotency and return as half the man he used to be.

"Angela!" her companion stopped her before she could deliver a second devastating kick. "Are you alright?" he asked Soul.

"No," he whispered, a little out of breath. He dug his right hand into his pants and searched around. Then, he was suddenly shocked. "One! I count only one!" he immediately cringed upon touching the swollen orb. As stated before, he was half the man he used to be.

Even though he had never experienced it himself, Mifune could already imagine the amount of pain Soul was enduring. He wanted to offer him a swift and painless release from the suffering, but couldn't due to the promise he made to Angela prior to entering the school. So, in the end, Mifune could only offer his sincere condolences at the great loss.

* * *

Meanwhile, further ahead, another commotion had already begun...

"What are you talking about! Where's Maka?"

"I-I don't know," cowered a frightened Chrona. She had just gotten outside and into the schoolyard. She only looked back for a second to check if someone was following her when she accidentally ran into someone else. She fell backwards and hit her butt on the hot sandstone ground.

She tried to apologize to whomever it was she hit, but the glaring sun behind him did not permit her from seeing his face. All she could tell was that he wore a loose black garb similar to those worn by ninjas. Of course she might be mistaken since no self-respecting shinobi would be caught dead wearing that in the middle of the day. In any case, he asked her of Maka's whereabouts. She knew, but couldn't tell him this for Maka had frequently warned her of talking to strangers.

It was only when he got irritated to her incoherent mumblings that the man bended over to look at her face-to-face. With his spiky blue-hair, crisp-brown skin, loud voice, and aggressive demeanor, Chrona recognized him to be, "Black Star". She recalled that Maka really thought about this person.

She remembered that whenever they finished doing stuff together, Maka would sometimes have this look of disappointment on her face. At first, Chrona assumed that it was herself to blame. Perhaps she was a little too shy on certain things, or maybe because she didn't have the proper equipment for the job. So, she kept quiet about it and trained herself to become stronger and a bit less dependable on others. Yet, for all her hard work, that worrisome look would often show itself. When she finally asked for the reason, Maka said that name before she fell asleep.

Naturally, Chrona felt a little envious of Black Star because unlike Soul, Maka seemed to think of him enough to stress herself out. And a stressed out Maka means a stressed out Chrona. So, in order to rectify the situation, something had to be done to the problem that was causing all the stress. If Ragnarok were still here to this day, that something would probably be along the lines of hack, slash, chop, stab, skewer, and impale! It was rather tempting, but those kinds of thoughts were beyond her now. Thanks to Maka, she was not the same person she was before.

* * *

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Black Star gave her a soft pound to the head, taking her back to the task at hand. "Are you listening to-"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Chrona suddenly screamed at him. This surprised him and herself as well. The sheer volume of this echoed throughout the yard and caught everyone's attention.

"Whoa," Black Star did not expect that kind of a reaction. In a situation like this where a person screams at you for something you might have done, Tsubaki once told him that the best thing to do was to apologize…which was an impossibility in itself.

"I'm s-s-s— I can't do it!" he wanted to say sorry, but his body just couldn't perform such a feat. Instead, Black Star shocked everyone when he did the next best thing by extending his hand to Chrona as if to say 'I'm sorry. Please get up' or at least something to that effect.

Chrona looked at him, confused. She knew what the gesture meant, but wasn't sure if accepting it meant something deeper.

* * *

Meanwhile, the crowds of students who silently watched the odd scene unfold were simultaneously pushed aside as Maka arrived in search of her best friend…

* * *

**Q&A Time! **Okay, to answer Wolfman6696's question/s... Kid isn't really in love with Chrona. After the first confession, Asura altered reality by creating the illusion that Maka reacted a bit harshly and killed Kid. He also took over and altered the confession. This is evident by the fact that Kid suddenly became very friendly and even declared himself a "love rival" of all things... So, Kid's first REAL confession didn't really happen as far as Maka was concerned...

For the second question, Yes, Kid has quite a few women/girls vying for him. BUT, I'm probably gonna limit it down a little bit. As much as I want to turn this into a harem, I won't for reasons beyond my human comprehension... sorry to all the guys out there!


	14. Blossoming Blades, the Angel of Death?

**Soul Eater Chronicles Episode 14: Blossoming Blades, the Angel of Death!**

* * *

"Come on! Are you just gonna sit there or what?" spoke Black Star as he stood there over a fallen Chrona. Seeing this, Maka immediately ran to the defense of her comrade.

"Chrona! Are you alright! Are you hurt anywhere!" she checked her friend for any injuries. However, being so close to her, Chrona couldn't stop blushing. She looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I-I'm fine, Maka." Unfortunately, Maka couldn't hear her faint words and mistook them for painful groans.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" she sneered. "How dare you bully Chrona! I won't forgive you!" she shrieked and delivered one hell of a punch to his face. He was caught off guard and was sent flying across the yard.

* * *

At the same time, Soul, Angela, and Mifune arrived to witness the scene. Soul was walking around like a cowboy while the little witch laughed her head off at this. They moved through the crowd and found Maka ordering Black Star to get up, whilst Chrona was desperately trying to prevent the situation from escalating any further.

"Hey, what's going on here?" asked Soul.

Blair appeared behind them and answered the question, "It's called evolution. Now get out of my way!" She pushed them aside and made her way closer to Maka until she stood about a foot behind her.

"Was that a witch?" asked Mifune.

"Yeah—wait! How did you know?" Soul was very much surprised by this. If none of the meisters around them could see through her Soul Protect Spell, how could this guy have found out about her being a witch? Was he so skilled a warrior that even his senses could detect magic? If so, then this man HAD to teach him.

"How? It's simple," he casually pointed to the familiar furry feline near Blair's feet. "She has a black cat and all witches should have one, right?"

"Okay…that's just LAME!" he protested the silly notion that just because someone has a black cat means that _that_ person was a witch.

* * *

Anyway, Black Star got to his feet and congratulated Maka on her cheap shot. She, in turn, challenged him to a fight. Chrona tried to explain to her that it was all a misunderstanding but to no avail for nothing could stop Maka now.

"Bring it on!" Black Star pulled out a steel ninjatō and readied himself. Impressively, his soul wavelength had since doubled from their last encounter.

After seeing this, Maka knew she was totally out-gunned. However, she couldn't stand down. Black Star has been a thorn on her side longer than she could remember and the only reason she tolerated his arrogance was for the sake of the team. But now, he crossed the line after hitting Chrona. He had to get what's coming to him. Even though she had almost no chance to win, she had to fight for Chrona's sake.

All of a sudden, a strong pulse of power shook the would-be battlefield. It felt as though someone had just resonated. The other meisters and weapons also felt it and they looked upon Maka as her soul wavelength increased threefold which was surprising since she didn't remember powering herself up.

Then, Maka heard the soft whisper of "Soul Resonance" coming from behind her. But before she could look, a giant scythe blade came into view.

* * *

"Great timing, Soul!" she smiled. Though Black Star only had a normal weapon, it was a weapon nonetheless. So, pairing up with her Demon Weapon wasn't exactly cheating per say. "Soul Resonance! Witch Hunter!" she yelled. Almost immediately, the blade grew larger in size and turned into the massive Witch Hunter. Black Star was startled by the move and he dropped his stance.

"Let's go, Soul!" she charged to take advantage of the opportunity.

"Wait, Maka!" Soul shouted at the top of his lungs.

"What is it? What's—?" she stopped cold when she saw him standing there to her left. If he was over there, then how could she be holding him right…here, as though it were a terrifying monster movie, Maka slowly turned her head—and screamed.

A large scythe-blade was sticking out from her right forearm. Then, another large blade appeared and curved upward from her shins. She freaked at how this mutations came to be. She violently swung her arm and leg around in an effort to detach the blades as if they were disgusting bugs that just landed on her. Of course, by doing this, everyone ran away so as not to get accidentally disemboweled during the rampage.

In the end, there was nothing anybody could do but watch in horror as the young girl screamed in terror and confusion at the sight of more and more scythe-blades springing forth from her body…

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hey, guys! Sorry it's a tad too short this time... I've already finished the next chapter, but I probably won't be posting it until the end of this week OR until my beta reader returns... You see, unlike now, the previous chapter I've posted wasn't proofread thus the blatant errors... Anyways, I appreciate you all for reading my work. ^_^ Please feel free to leave a comment and/or a question... Thanks!


	15. Love, Blades, and War!

**Episode 15: Love, Blades, and War!**

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Hey y'all! Sorry it took longer than expected... But, I present you with chapter 15... Please **Read**, **Enjoy **and **Comment!** ^_^

* * *

6:00 p.m. Shibusen's Infirmary—Scores of students filled the hallway, eager to catch a glimpse of what became known to be the last of the _Seven Mysteries of Shibusen_. However, try as they might, the door leading into the room was locked by Spirit. It was only until a certain loud knock that he opened the door.

"Eh? You opened it right away? I didn't even finish the secret knock yet," pouted the Shinigami. He was accompanied by two of his Death Scythes, namely: Azusa and Justin.

"We don't HAVE a secret knock!" exclaimed Spirit, "Would you be serious for once!" Surprised as he was, the Shinigami understood Spirit's anxiety. As a father himself, worrying over his child's safety and welfare was paramount.

But, ("SHINIGAMI CHOP!") under no circumstance should someone scream at him like that. Spirit was a Death Scythe; as such, he should've learned to handle such things professionally and with dignity intact.

"Sh-Shinigami-sama…" Spirit could only groan.

* * *

As they entered, the rows of clean beds lay before them. With nobody in sight, they proceeded towards the private room reserved for special cases. That was also the same room that Kid had previously occupied during his comatose state.

Seeing Soul and Sid standing outside the room, Azusa promptly asked Maka's condition. Neither of the two could answer for they knew nothing. Blair was also there with her cat, but they were purposely ignored. After admitting Maka inside, Stein and Nygus prohibited anyone from entering the room. Since then, there had been no word about her condition.

"MAKA!"

At that moment, the mucus-dripping, teary-eyed Spirit reappeared and went directly for the door. Pounding for it to open, he kept shouting his support for Maka by saying such things as "Everything's going to be alright!" or "Don't give up!".

Although it was done with good intentions, the possibility that Spirit could be disturbing a delicate operation made it far more of a danger than help. He became more of a nuisance when he began having delusions that Stein was actually dissecting Maka instead of helping her.

"Papa's here to save you!" he cried out. Out of desperation, he was even prepared to kick down the door—something the Shinigami readied to counter with another _SHINIGAMI CHOP_.

* * *

Just then, "Honorable Father, what has happened to Maka?" Kid and the Thompson Sisters made their appearance.

"Hmm? Haven't you heard? Something happened and now Maka got turned into something."

"What do you mean by _something_?"

While the father and son talked, Blair noticed that Patty had a large tome in her arms. It was fairly old that even the crimson-red color of its leather-cover had begun to fade. There were no distinguishable markings, but if she had to guess, that was none other than the Book of Exorcism that Patty told her about.

She was tempted to take it, but before she could, something else caught her eye. In fact, it was their eyes. Expressionless, cold, and dull were the words to describe them. It was as if they were being controlled or something. She knew Kid didn't have that power, but just to make sure, she ordered her cat to catch their attention.

The cuddly creature obeyed without question and went towards the two. She purred loudly as she rubbed her soft fur against the bare legs of Patty. But it was to no avail, so the cat opted to make a scratching post of the denim-clad legs of Liz. She dug her claws into the fabric many times, but the girl didn't even blink.

Seeing how this experiment turned out, Blair had no doubt in her mind as to what afflicted them. Now, the question was _who_ had that _kind_ of power over the mind? All facts pointed to Kid. But then that would beg the question _why?_ After researching their pasts, Blair knew how those two admired and respected the boy so much so that they'd probably do anything for him. So there was no need to control them. Besides, Kid wasn't the kind of person who'd do something like that.

Then it dawned on her, 'What if Kid wasn't Kid at all?' Perhaps someone else was pulling the strings and that her beloved was just another puppet. The thought of such a powerful person chilled her blood, but at the same time, the idea that someone else was monopolizing Kid to their own ends infuriated her greatly. Whoever this person was, he just made a terrible enemy!

She signaled the cat to withdraw just as Kid finished explaining how the library got topsy-turvy due to Liz and Patty's constant horsing around.

* * *

Just then, the door slowly opened and Stein came out. "What's up?" he asked, casually.

"YOU! What have you done to Maka!" Spirit immediately grabbed his collar.

"SHINIGAMI CHOP!" the strong hand of the Shinigami brought him down at once. "How is she?" he then asked calmly.

"She's alright," saying this, the good doctor took out a cancer stick and lit it. After a few puffs, he motioned them to enter but not before warning them to mind their limbs when they're inside.

"Whoa, what happened here-nyah?" asked the cat upon seeing the amount of damage inflicted to the room. It was as though an intense battle took place here. The portraits of the Shinigami lay torn on the floor, several pieces of what looked like a chair were scattered on the floor and most noticeably, massive cuts and slashes were carved deep into the reinforced-stone walls.

* * *

But, instead of commenting on the destruction, everyone (except those who knew) looked at the talking cat as though they had never seen one before. The cold silence of the room together with their _speciest_ stares made her go, "M-Meow?" with uncertainty.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at my cat?" asked Blair, "I said, what happened here-nyah?" She even added that awkward –nyah just to allay suspicion.

"That was odd," said Justin, "For a second, I thought it was the cat that spoke." He laughed it off whilst two very noticeable guillotine-blades were protruding from his forearms. The cat froze at the sight of those meat cleavers.

"A talking cat, eh? It would be great to disse-_examine_ something like that," grinned Stein. He had that crazed, '_I-wanna-dissect-you!_' look in his eyes. Seeing their reactions, it was then that the cat understood the reason as to why her owner wanted her silent.

"It's alright, little kitty," smiled Blair as she picked up the frightened furry feline and cuddled it. "Don't ever do that again," she whispered to its ear. The cat, ashamed by its disobedience, covered its head with its fluffy paws and nodded in agreement.

* * *

"So, where is she?" asked the Shinigami. With so much destruction here, the person responsible was nowhere to be seen.

"She's currently in the bathroom, Shinigami-sama," reported Nygus, who had been doubling as the school nurse ever since Medusa quit. "I've just given her a strong sedative to calm her down."

"You're hurt!" gasped Sid, seeing the blood-soaked bandages on her arms.

"It's okay. It's only a flesh wound. I'm fine," she replied. Not long after, the bathroom door opened. Unsure of what to do, they braced themselves for the unexpected…

"Huh? Soul, is that you?" Maka stepped out, looking normal and pretty much unchanged. The only thing surprising about her anticlimactic entrance was the fact that she wore all-yellow pajamas, which did NOT suit her at all.

They watched as she groggily walked towards Soul. "It really is you," she chuckled, patting his head like a dog.

"M-Maka-chan, are you alright?" asked Spirit.

"Huh?" she looked at her father, "Y-You look funny! Ha-ha-ha!" Her laughter crushed his confidence and sent him into a deep depression.

"It's only a side effect of the drug. She's fine," said Nygus to calm their fears that Maka had gone crazy. Regardless, things were getting weird as Maka suddenly stopped laughing and went to hide under her bed sheets in a turtle-like position. Then, she began complaining about how cold the room had become.

Soul wanted to go and help her, but Kid grabbed hold of him. "Don't," he said. A second later, a pair of sharp and pointy, curved blades grew out of the back of the shivering girl.

"What's wrong? What's everyone looking at?" asked Maka.

"Impossible," Nygus was astounded by how fast the sedative was wearing off. "I gave her enough to put down a horse. How could she—"

"W-WHAT ARE THESE THINGS!" screamed Maka. The two blades from before had grown so much so that they curved over her shoulders. Four smaller blades had also appeared from her back and curved around her sides. They all met at the front and formed an armor or shell of some sort.

"Calm down, Maka. Your emotions are controlling their growth. You shouldn't-"

* * *

"Hey!" Marie poked her head into the room. With everyone standing in the way, she didn't know what was happening. "Look who I brought," she stepped into the room with someone. "H-Hello", the person greeted.

"C-Chrona?" Maka gasped. "Get out of here, Chrona! You shouldn't see me like this," she sobbed, ashamed of her current state of weakness.

"Maka, it's alright. I'm here," she smiled, coming closer.

"NO! Get back!" screamed Maka. Just as she came within a few steps from her, several curved-blades shot forth without any warning and enclosed the two girls in a metal cocoon…

"MAKA!"


	16. Fatal Crux

**Episode 16: Fatal Crux**

* * *

6:30 p.m. Shibusen Rooftops—atop one of the spires, Black Star sat silently watching the people below. For some reason, he cared little for their blatant ignorance of his overwhelming greatness. He sighed. Even the thought of standing up and declaring his existence to the heavens had lost its appeal.

This was very unlike him. It wasn't depression that's causing him to lose interest; rather, it was something else. For weeks, he trained himself in the harsh deserts of Nevada, rocky-mountains of the Sierra Madre, and even in the Great Lawn of New York City, all so that he may return stronger than ever. But, the first thing he did after arriving was picking a fight with Maka!

Sure Maka was a pain in the butt with all her bossy-attitude, her stubbornness to let him shine and become the great star that he was meant to be. But what happened to her was—terrible. She didn't deserve that. Though he didn't understand what had taken place, it didn't take a genius to know that having blades coming out from your body would hurt like hell.

"It's my fault again, isn't it?" he groaned.

Ironically, instead of a fight, Black Star's true intention was to find Maka and try to bury the hatchet or at the very least apologize. Now, things were worse than before.

Well, at least he could take comfort in the fact that Tsubaki wasn't there to witness it all. Because if she had, there was no doubt that she'd hate him more than ever. Though in the end, there was no hiding it. She'll probably hear about it from one of her friends and she'll hate him all the same.

"What should I do?" he thought. The prospects were indeed grim for him. There was no one else he could turn to for help…except his good buddy Soul! "Of course!" he snapped his fingers. Then again, Maka was Soul's partner. Despite their friendship, there was no way Soul would choose him over Maka.

"Damn it!" he cursed. The inability to do anything riled him so. He couldn't take it anymore. He immediately got on his feet and decided to at least try to do something about it. But as he turned, a startling sight awaited him.

"Black Star, you're back," smiled Tsubaki.

* * *

In the meantime, a couple of floors below, a situation had arisen. A large metal cocoon stood in the center of the V.I.P. room as Soul, Spirit, and Marie were trying to pry it open.

"Maka! Chrona! I'm going to get you out!" Spirit's left arm turned into a large scythe-blade. He intended to use this as a make shift can opener to free them.

"Wait!" shouted the Shinigami, "We should let them settle this out." He then explained that Maka and Chrona weren't careless as to get themselves hurt. Similarly to what happened during the final battle with Asura those many months ago, the Shinigami urged them to have faith and hope that they might get out of this safe and unharmed.

In the midst of the commotion, no one noticed the disappearance of a few key players…

* * *

"What did you do?" Kid confronted Blair the witch in the infirmary.

"What ever do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"Those blades didn't just appear by accident! And witches are the only people I know that can make things like that happen! So change her back!" he grabbed her shoulders.

This aggressive reaction surprised her a little. It would appear she struck a nerve. His reaction now looked more real and believable than those of his previous performances. This came as a relief to her because it meant that control over him was weakening—meaning now was the time to make a move!

To maintain a coercion spell over a powerful being like a shinigami, one would either have to be close by at all times or have the target in sight at all times. So, it would stand to reason that whoever is controlling Kid would be right here in the infirmary. And the only people besides her and her cat would be the Thompson Sisters.

Initially, she suspected the culprit to be Patty since according to her research that girl wasn't exactly the brightest apple in the bunch yet she was responsible for turning the school's intercom into her personal stereo system. Modifying the whole system and enabling it to actually receive wireless transmission only from her Patty-Pod would've at least required a certain degree of expertise in electronics, which clearly this school did not offer.

So either Patty was just plain lucky to accomplish such a task or she is secretly an evil mastermind manipulating them from the shadows. _How conniving_, shuddered Blair. But whatever Patty's true personality, the fact remains that she was being controlled together with her sister. This not only proved their innocence, but also disproved the idea of a close-range spell user since there was no one else in the room to point to.

* * *

If so, then the only logical alternative was that the enemy probably has a hostage.

Yes, the Thompson Sisters would be the easiest choice since they're quite close to Kid, but then again, the low-level coercion spell used on them made it seem unlikely that they were even considered as hostages. Besides them, no one else was close enough to Kid to be an effective hostage except…

"Maka," she sneered. Perhaps this was the reason why he reacted so…passionately. He was worried about _HER_.

"I'm shocked!" she pushed him back. Blair continued on with this game of wits despite knowing her actions might very well endanger Maka. Besides, after finding such a delicate spot, she knew that it would only take a few more hits before she could discover the true nature of the bastard controlling her precious _toy_. "Kid, how could you think me such a monster?" she spoke, a bit overly melodramatic.

"Because you are!" he shouted without hesitation.

* * *

His voice echoed through the empty room. In response, Blair only stood there staring at him. Her body wouldn't move at all and she couldn't understand why. She was so furious at Kid for saying such a lie that she wanted to slap him across the face. But she could not. Her strength left her and she fell on her knees.

She was in shock. It would seem that his words wounded her in more ways than just her pride. She wanted to speak, but could say nothing. When she looked at Kid, her heart was torn in anguish for he looked down on her with nothing but hate and disgust in his eyes.

That very expression brought her back to an old scar best left forgotten... This was a memory about a cold winter's night, a house of broken promises, and the tears of a young witch and her black cat.

As Kid turned around and headed back into the V.I.P. room, Blair reached her hand out for him as if to say, "Wait! Don't leave me!". At that instant, instead of Kid, she saw someone else. It was an older woman with long black hair. She wore a dark, velvet robe and a rather intricate-looking, pointy hat. For some reason, Blair couldn't see her face. Yet she knew who she was.

"Mother!" she cried out, before the door closed on her forever…

* * *

**Author's Note**: Apologies for taking so long (again)... anyway, I was supposed to write about a heart-to-heart thing about Maka & Chrona here... but for some reason, I went for Blair instead... well, in any case, if your confused about this chapter, don't be... I've re-directed the story to focus a bit more on the OC, Blair the Witch... this is so that you might better understand her motives and reasoning for the soon-to-come climax... Please continue reading! ^_^ I'll try to finish the next chapter this upcoming weekend...


	17. Blissful Memories

**Episode 17: Blissful Memories**

* * *

December 24, 1096, Romania – Safely nestled in the high peaks of the Carpathian Mountains were the vast snow-covered forests of the Transylvanian Plateau.

Far above the prying eyes of society, this secluded place provided a perfect haven for those who value the utmost privacy, the beauty of peace and tranquility, or perhaps those who simply abhor the stench of humanity. Regardless, this place was not for the weak. Aside from fierce winds, high altitude, and bitter cold, the plateau also plays host to something frightening. Though it lurks just above the clouds to elude sight, its monstrous form unavoidably casts an ominous shadow on the land. No one knows what it actually is since the massive barbed tentacles often seen appearing and disappearing amongst the dark clouds were enough to dissuade anyone from finding out.

Fortunately, the thick forest canopy below safely protected its denizens from most of the horrors. And that is why a certain house remained completely unseen despite its appearance as a Halloween pumpkin.

Far from civilization, the building was in a surprisingly good shape considering its location. The windows were all broken, but they were replaced by torn pieces of clothing. It didn't keep the cold out, but at least it kept the wind at bay. The outer walls of the building were riddled with holes, but a few clumps of earth and clay patched things up. The roof was heavily battered due to falling branches and heavy snow, but a little cleaning seemed to have kept it from caving in.

In conclusion, the building would've collapsed a long time ago had it not been for these makeshift repairs. But then again, the freezing temperatures; the lack of food and water; and the constant threat of dying made this house somewhat less than ideal. Nevertheless, this was the humble home of Blair "The Witch" de Valesti.

_

* * *

Creeeeak!_

The door slowly opened and a small Blair at the age of 6 appeared at the door way. She was carrying some firewood as she stepped in. With sapphire-blue eyes and waist-long blonde hair, this little girl looked nothing like the redheaded witch of today.

Moreover, she was dressed in the dreariest of wears. It was cold and snowing outside yet the only thing that seemed to keep her from freezing was an old, tattered, white tunic that was big enough for her to use as a dress.

After closing the door with her foot, she immediately declared "I'm home!" Her cheerful voice echoed throughout the house, but no one answered back. She didn't seem to be bothered though for she hummed a merry tune as she made her way towards the fireplace.

Currently, she was in the living room which was the first room one would see upon entry. There was a fireplace at the end of the room in direct opposite of the entrance. In between, there was an empty coffee table with two chairs facing each other. And that was all there was to it. It really wasn't that much to look at. The furniture was tacky and the walls had no pictures or decorations of any kind. So, it was all room and not much living.

Anyway, there were two doors at either side of the fireplace. The door to the left was made of thick oak and sealed shut by a large silver lock. Meanwhile, the door to the right was unlocked and it led to what can only be described as a kitchen for there were a lot of shelves and cupboards and even a large cauldron was sitting at the corner. However, what all of these had in common was that not an ounce of food could be found anywhere.

So, it was a wonder how a little girl of six could survive in such a place. Fortunately, she was not alone because when she set herself down by the fireplace some semblance of life finally took notice.

"There you are," she said, spotting a black kitten emerging from an old mouse hole.

"Mew!" it ran happily to her owner. It stumbled about at first though, but it still managed to curl up against her leg. She couldn't help but giggle at the sheer cuteness of it.

"Look! I found more food!" she took out a couple of red berries from a pouch on her hip. After tearing them open with her finger nails, she placed them before the small animal which gladly went at them whilst making adorable eating and mewing noises. As for her, she had to make do with only a handful of nuts.

Well, it wasn't a proper meal, but at least it was something to fill their bellies. With the winter months nearing their coldest point yet, times grew increasingly difficult as food grew ever scarce and so, they had to make do with whatever morsel of food they could scrounge up.

* * *

After eating, Blair lit a flame in the old fireplace. "Mew," the kitten watched anxiously as the warm heat began to envelope them both.

"That's better isn't it?" Blair smiled.

"Meow," the kitten replied.

"Yeah, it's pretty cozy, isn't it?" she giggled, curling up with the furry creature in her arms.

Then, the kitten meowed, worriedly.

"It's only been a few days. I'm sure Mother and Medusa-neechan will be coming home soon."

The kitten suddenly began hissing.

"No, don't say that," she said, "Arachne-neechan didn't mean what she said. I'm sure Mother will come home and take care of us again, especially if she finds out how a good girl I've been. And didn't Medusa-neechan promise that she won't bully me anymore."

"Meow," it looked sadly at her.

"No, no. It'll be alright. We'll be a family again," she smiled happily.

_Slam!_

The door suddenly swung open. The cold wind rushed in and two figures appeared at the doorway.


	18. Beloved Sisters

**Episode 18: Beloved Sisters**

* * *

"No, no. It'll be alright. We'll be a family again," Blair smiled happily to her feline companion. But alas! Nothing was farther from the truth.

_Slam!_

The door suddenly swung open. The cold wind rushed in and two figures stood at the doorway. Wearing long dark cloaks, they appeared as fearsome wraiths. The kitten immediately hissed and growled at them whilst the little girl retreated closer to the flames, scared at what those two were.

After the door closed, and the cloaks removed, they revealed themselves to be human, or at least something close to it. One was a young teenage girl with short blonde hair. She appeared to be 12-years-old. Surprisingly, just like Blair, the cold didn't seem to affect her at all for she was only wearing a sleeveless black hooded-dress. Not to mention, she was barefoot of all things.

Meanwhile, the other person was a tall, older woman with snow-white skin and raven-black hair. Wearing a black, silk robe with gold embroidery, she was definitely a classy person and yet what definitely stood out was her pointy, old hat. Although in spite of its shabby appearance, there was a majestic aura emanating from it. Furthermore, it had a wicked-depiction of a shinigami-skull embedded at the front. Whoever this person was, the status symbol meant that she was held in high regard in the realm of witchcraft.

"Mother!" the young Blair cried, happily. She went to meet her with open arms. However, she was ignored as the woman brushed pass her and went to the oaken door. She quickly unlocked it not with a silver key, but with a mere wave of her hand.

When the door swung open, red candles inside lit up to reveal a small dark, windowless room. At the center of the room, there was a queen-sized, four-poster bed complete with purple velvet curtains. There was also an ivory dressing table positioned at the side of the room together with a fully-stacked bookcase.

The bookcase seemed to interest her mother the most as she began going through it in search of a certain special book.

"M-Mother?" Blair was confused.

* * *

Meanwhile, the blonde girl approached. "It's been two weeks already. Why are you still alive?" she asked, sounding more irritated than concerned. She circled the young Blair, eyeing her like a vulture.

"I-I thought you said you won't bully me anymore, oneechan," Blair responded rather meekly.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that," she forcefully grabbed the girl's hair.

"Ow! That hurts!"

It was then that she noticed cuts and bruises on her sister's hands. This, coupled with the warm fire, meant that the little girl must have been gathering firewood all by herself. Now, that was surprisingly stupid since she could've just used the furniture in the house for firewood. But, it seems that she cleaned them and the whole house instead. She even fixed the holes in the roof and ceiling.

Medusa couldn't help be amused by this. Blair actually believed them and expected them to return to this dump. It looks like she was just too stupid to realize that she was just left to die up here. However, the fact that she continues to live irritated her to no end. She had to figure out how this was still possible. Then, she noticed the small hissing kitten besides her sister. Well, seeing as how she hasn't eaten that thing yet, she must have found something else to fill her stomach.

She continued to look around until she saw a peculiar object sitting by the fireplace. "What's _that_ doing here?" she sneered as the small pointy hat seemed to repulse her so. Although it was ages ago, she still remembered it to be the one her older sister earned during her initiation.

"Arachne-neechan, gave it to me."

"Oh? When was this?"

"T-Three days ago, but she left already," she cringed as Medusa pulled her hair even harder.

"I see. What did she do here? Did she take anything with her? What did she tell you?" she asked, curiously.

Unfortunately, her hesitant sister replied, "I-Well, I'm sorry. But she made me promise not to tell you."

* * *

Hearing this, Medusa was taken aback. She was surprised at how easily Blair calmed down and composed herself. However, now was not the time to be bothered by such trivial matters. Blair knew something and so she had to find out what it was. Medusa eased her hand –'twas a simple gesture meant to calm the frightened girl.

"Come on. I was just kidding. So tell me, what exactly did _that woman_ do here?" she smiled. This has always been the way she was able to bring her sister back into submission. It was a simple task, really. All it took was a few words of kindness, a sincere apology, and a fake smile to win back the confidence lost.

"I'm sorry, Medusa-neechan. But a promise is a promise," Blair smiled back, sensing it safe to do so.

"WHAT!" Medusa snapped back and startled her. Being denied the truth was one thing, but to be treated in such a way especially by Blair was, by far, the greatest insult she ever received. Simply put, it was as though she had given a warm home to a poor animal only to have the wretched beast burn it down and piss all over the remains.

It was unclear how her little sister, her own flesh and blood, was compared to an animal, but to Medusa, it seemed to make perfect sense.

* * *

"Ow! Ow! That hurts! Please stop it, Medusa-neechan,"

"Why don't you stop acting like you're the victim here?" she shrieked, almost tearing off a handful of her sister's hair. She was disgusted by how Blair could still keep up her "innocent little girl" act despite all that has happened.

Blair couldn't help but cry in pain. She could feel the hair on her head beginning to tear at the roots. It wasn't long before blood began rushing down to her face. It was so excruciating that she fell on her knees, crying in agony.

Her furry companion tried to save her. She leaped at Medusa's bare feet and attacked, but this only enraged her even more. She stepped on the kitten as hard as she could. Already, she felt its tiny bones beginning to break under her weight.

Blair begged her, "Don't hurt her, please! Stop it!"

She didn't…


	19. Birth of the Blood Stained Witch

**Episode 19: Birth of the Blood-Stained Witch**

* * *

"Don't hurt her, please! Stop it!" begged Blair as she tried to free her kitten from Medusa. But days without any proper nourishment took its toll. Her body could no longer move as she wanted it to. What little strength she had left was barely able to keep her sister from totally crushing the life out of the small animal. "Stop it! Please!"

But she didn't. Instead, she laughed upon seeing her distraught sister in so much pain and agony.

Meanwhile, their mother had just finished sifting through the various books and papers kept in the bedroom. At last, she was able to find what she was looking for. Safely hidden between the masterworks of Dante Alighieri and the arcane tomes of Juno Valesti was a small bamboo container. With its seal still intact, she breathed a sigh of relief. It has been a long and arduous journey from Greece and, quite frankly, a bit of good news was most–

"What?" she gasped. When she opened the container, a small black widow popped out and landed on the palm of her hand. It was lying on its back with all eight legs pointed up. She checked the container and found nothing else inside. The research scrolls that were supposed to be there were gone.

"Arachne," she cursed that name as she crushed the dead arachnid.

* * *

When she returned to the living room, she was rather surprised to see her daughter stomping a defenseless girl. As a witch, engaging your opponent in a fistfight was considered barbarous at best for it was always kept in mind that, '_Why should a magical being of my caliber degrade myself by taking part in the primitive rituals of animals?_'

"Medusa," she called, "Stop playing around. It's time to go."

Hearing this, the young witch stopped just as she was about to break her little sister's fingers. "But, mom-" she wanted to protest, but the stone-cold stare she received prevented this. "Fine…_mother_," she sighed, disappointed. She put on her wraith-like cloak and then followed her to the door.

"Mother! Please wait!" Blair cried out.

"?" she turned to find the battered girl struggling to her feet. Her hands and feet were almost blue from the beating. Her head was covered with blood that it seemed to have dyed her hair red.

Unfortunately, the older woman had no intention of complying with the request. In fact, seeing such a shameful sight only hastened her desire to leave. She quickly began reciting the necessary incantations to forge a magic circle and–

"Mom!" All of a sudden, Blair grabbed her by the arm …

_

* * *

SLAP!_

Her disturbance earned her a strong slap across the face, sending her back to the floor.

"Don't touch me you filth!" shrieked the mother.

It all happened so fast that Blair was more surprised than hurt. She couldn't believe what had just happened. But when she wanted to ask the proverbial question _why_, her mother immediately said something she never expected…

"I am NOT your mother!" she sneered. "And you are not my child! You're just a mistake I made years ago!"

Medusa was taken aback by this. Seeing her sister got what was coming to her, she felt so happy and relieved that she wanted to celebrate this beautiful mother-daughter moment by poking fun at the little 'brat'. But then again, seeing the ever stoic expression of her mother twist into that of a deranged loony… perhaps this wasn't the best time to enjoy herself.

Anyway, those words hit Blair like a dagger through the chest. She could no longer hold back the tears that swelled up in her eyes. The words of her mother seemed to have been the final nail to the coffin. She wanted to speak, but could say nothing. When she looked at her mother, her heart was torn in anguish for the woman looked down on her with nothing but hate and disgust in her eyes.

After saying all that had to be said, her beloved mother and sister closed the door and left her there…

* * *

"Huh? W-Where am I?" Liz groaned. She looked about, bewildered by her surroundings.

The last thing she remembered was confronting Kid in the library before everything went blank.

Now, she was in the infirmary for some reason… "STOP IT!" someone suddenly screamed.

"What is going on here?" she was surprised to see Blair there. She had fallen to the floor, screaming in horror as she tried shielding her eyes from something unseen.

"Cut it out, nyah!" Holding her precious Okami-sama in her arms, the cat hissed at Kid who was standing there with a shocked expression on his face. It seems that he hadn't expected to be sucked into the dream world himself.

"Kid-kun, you alright?" asked Patty, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Patty!" gasped her sister. "Where did you come from!"

"Eh? I dunno. I just woke up here," she chuckled.

"Hey, stop him, you guys!" pleaded the cat as her Okami-sama violently struggled against Kid's phantasmagoria.

"OK!" Patty saluted as she grabbed hold of a nearby bedpan…


	20. Phantasmagoria Aftermath

**Episode 20: Phantasmagoria Aftermath**

* * *

8:16 a.m., the next morning— It was the 23rd, only two days before Xmas Day, and the holiday spirit was in full swing. With last-minute shoppers and rush sales, one could easily feel the tension building up for the highly anticipated Xmas Eve Party.

At the same time, several large loud speakers have been set up all around the city. This was done in accordance to the previously approved Blair's 'Break-The-Soul-Protect-Spell' plan. Despite its unnecessarily long name and dubious architect, the plan was quite simple and complex at the same time.

Firstly, the idea of the Xmas Eve Party was to lure the witches out of hiding by providing them with an irresistible opportunity to land a massive sneak attack. Normally, the witches would send a very select few of highly-trained spies to infiltrate the city and gather information about the school. But now, with everyone using costumes, the witches would be able to send even the most inexperienced of its members and they'd still blend in with the crowd.

According to Blair, the witches would attack during the Witching Hour. So it was paramount that they be neutralized before midnight in order to minimize destruction and avoid any unnecessary loss of life.

This is where the loud speakers come into play. When all the witches invoke their Soul Release spell and reveal their positions, Blair would invoke a unique type of Soul Resonance wherein the Soul Protect spells of the witches would reactivate and seal their powers long enough for Shibusen to counterattack.

All in all, it was a pretty solid plan. There was even an added bonus of a city-wide music bonanza as Patty flooded the airwaves with track hits and top charters.

* * *

As a matter of fact, at Maka's place, the upbeat music slowly permeated through the thin walls of the apartment and shattered the peaceful morning of the sleeping girl…

"Stop the music," she groaned. She blindly reached out to turn it off but touched something else instead. It was warm and soft.

"Chrona!" she gasped, a bit surprised to see her sharing the same blanket. But she smiled soon after as she found the face of a sleeping Chrona to be quite a refreshing sight especially after all she's been through.

She stretched her hand to caress her soft cheeks. "So cute," she cooed as the girl groaned at the slightest touch. Out of sheer curiosity, she looked under the covers and saw the girl to be holding something in her arms. It was wrapped up in dark-colored paper. Upon closer inspection, she recognized it to be the Xmas present she was planning to give her. She was hugging it as though it was a pillow or something.

"Not yet," she whispered. There was some resistance at first, but she managed to pull it free from her arms. However, in a strange twist, Chrona unconsciously grabbed hold of whatever was close by.

Maka tried desperately to muffle her own screams as Chrona happily snuggled her new 'pillow'…

* * *

At the same time, somewhere along the empty hallways of Shibusen, a forlorn Soul sat idly at a corner. Judging from his disheveled clothes, the size of his eye bags, and the dead expression on his face, he probably hasn't slept since yesterday's incident…

_ "I can't take it anymore!" Spirit screamed in frustration. "Maka! Chrona! I'm going to get you out!" Spirit turned his arm into a large scythe-blade._

_ In retaliation, the Shinigami dispatched him with a swift 'Shinigami Chop!' before he could even do anything. "Didn't I tell you to let them settle this out!"_

_ "B-But Shinigami-sama…what if they're hurt or…"_

_ "No, they're not. Anyway, whatever they're doing in there. We can't do anything about it," he replied while calmly sipping a cup of Earl Grey with Azusa. They were seated at the corner with a small table filled with an assortment of tasty pastries._

_ "Where the heck did that come from!" Spirit was quick to point out the oddity, but everybody was pretty much ignoring him at that point._

_ "STOP IT!" a sudden cry came from the infirmary._

_ "What is going on out there?" Nygus went to investigate. But when she was about to open the door, the sound of metal scrapping together stopped her in her tracks._

_ Before they knew it, the metal cocoon encasing Maka and Chrona started opening up. Everyone watched anxiously as the blades began retracting to reveal the two girls inside. Holding an unconscious Maka in her arms, Chrona supported her with all her might 'til the last blade disappeared before finally dropping to her knees._

_ "We're alright," she said. Everyone was relieved to hear this as they helped them up…_

"Damn it!" Soul greeted his teeth. The thought that Maka had cried herself to sleep in the arms of another…He kept repeating it all in his head and it always had the same conclusion: "Why didn't I do anything!"

He was there at the perfect moment when the opportunity to step up came and…he blew it. He stood there like an idiot until Chrona appeared on her proverbial white horse and swept his dear scythe-queen away.

"What do I do now?" he thought, his shoulders slumped. It was all over. He lost everything. Without Maka as his partner, was there even a point in aiming to be a Death Scythe?

* * *

In the meantime, two floors above him, a new development in Death City's socioeconomic world may complicate the upcoming Xmas Eve party…

"He's gonna do WHAT!" gasped Black Star.

Tsubaki was just as startled, "I-Is the Shinigami really going to do that!"

Upon entering the desert sanctuary that is the Death Room, Tsubaki, Black Star, and Marie find themselves confronted with startling news courtesy of the no-nonsense Death Scythe, Azusa.

"No. But according to the rumors, on the Xmas Eve Party, he's going to wear a Xmas costume to celebrate the holidays," she said, monitoring Death City from the various screens.

"So he's going to wear a Xmas costume, what's the problem with that?" asked Marie.

"Think about it Marie," she replied. "In all the years that we have known the Shinigami, have you ever seen him without his mask?" Azusa flashed her glasses. "What will people think if they seem him in person?"

"No way!" the gravity of the situation soon became apparent.

"Wait!" gasped Black Star, "If that happens then—"

"Exactly. Right now, we've only managed to contain the situation and prevented the rumors from spreading to the internet… However, it will be only a matter of time before the whole world hears about it and—"

"I wasn't talking about that!" he interjected, "If the Shinigami shows his face, then everyone won't be able to see the GREAT ME!"

"Black Star…" Tsubaki couldn't help but facepalm.


	21. Yandere Stigmata

**Episode 21: Yandere Stigmata**

* * *

8:54 a.m., Pumpkin House— A steamy pot of miso soup lay boiling on the stove as Blair the Cat prepared breakfast. Humming a happy tune while she deep-fried some pork cutlets, Blair seemed as peppy as ever despite yesterday's events. But then again, her perky demeanor would often falter whenever she looked at her dear Okami's door…

_ Yesterday— after Kid was knocked out, her Okami was finally able to calm down and fall asleep. However, when she was carried back to the Pumpkin House, she woke up and immediately kicked the cat out of the bedroom and locked herself in. _

_ Throughout the whole night, the cat waited patiently by her door. She constantly fought herself to endure the agonizing feeling of helplessness as she could hear strange noises and the sound of her crying Okami and yet be unable to do anything about it._

* * *

"Okami-sama," she sighed, "No! I shouldn't be thinking bad thoughts," she said to herself. As she carefully placed the pork cutlets on rice and poured some curry sauce, the mouthwatering aroma filled her senses.

"Nyah!" she squealed in delight. After her Okami got a taste of her delicious cooking, she was sure to go back to her happy self. She set them on a silver platter and hurried to her Okami.

"Pumpumkin-Pumkin," she chanted and this unlocked the door.

_SLAM!_

She kicked the door open and greeted, "Wake-y, wake-y, nya— Ara?" she stopped, surprised to find a cold room devoid of light. "Okami-sama?" she called out to the void, but there was no reply. So, she reached into the darkness until she was able to find the switch. After flipping it on, the light revealed nothing but carnage.

The beautiful queen-sized bed was turned over with the mattress all torn up. The mahogany armoire that kept her clothes was ruined with many of its precious contents plastered unto the window to keep the sun at bay. It was such a shame that even the vanity table which was bought just recently wasn't spared from the destruction as shards of the mirror were scattered on the floor.

Just to make things a bit more…odd, disturbing messages such as "I'M FILTHY, I'M SICK, MURDER, DEATH, and KILL," were written in blood all over the walls, the ceiling, the floor—just about every possible surface was stained with the beautiful color of life.

With that much blood lost, the cat couldn't help but fear for her owner's wellbeing. Since she wasn't here, the only place left unchecked was the bathroom. So, she set the silver platter aside and hurried to the door.

* * *

"Okami-sama!" she gasped upon seeing her. Blood was smeared on the floor and on the sink, indicating that she staggered to the bathtub.

She rushed to her side and found her soaking in her own blood. There were severe bruises on her arms and body. She was bleeding quite profusely as the outer layer of her skin had been peeled off. The bloody steel wool in her hand indicated that she tried cleaning herself to the bone.

It was very difficult for the cat to see such gore. She immediately took the steel wool from her hand to prevent her owner from causing further harm to herself.

"Okami-sama, you're hurt! We have to go to the hospital, nyah!" she tried to help her up whilst carefully trying to avoid touching her wounds. Unfortunately, the girl was in shock. She could not stand on her own feet and she ended up slipping back into the water.

So no matter how hard the cat tried to help her, she lacked neither the strength nor the stamina to fully support her owner. Alternatively, she tried calling Shibusen for help using the bathroom mirror. However, unbeknownst to her, ever since the witches appeared in the city, all incoming and outgoing mirror-calls have been blocked.

"Please snap out of it, nyah!" cried the cat, sensing the situation grow ever more dire with each passing moment. "Snap out of it, nyah!" she repeated, looking deep into her soulless yellow eyes trying to find some sign of her when… "He saw me," she muttered, surprising the cat.

"Okami-sama! You're alright!" she smiled, "I-It's me, nyah!"

But sadly, her hopes were soon dashed even further as Blair was still in a world of her own. It wasn't long before she began muttering the same words she had written in the bedroom.

"He saw me…my past… he knows how filthy I am…" Then, she began moving her hands in a scrubbing motion. "I have to clean myself…or else he'll—"

"Okami-sama, stop this!" The cat didn't understand what was going on, but she had to do something and fast.

_

* * *

SLAP!_

The sound echoed throughout the room followed by an eerie silence. The cat stood, teary-eyed—her hand shaking after delivering such a blow to her beloved Okami. She couldn't believe what she had just done.

At the same time, Blair was awe struck. With eyes wide open, she looked upon her pet with utter disbelief. At this point, it wasn't clear whether she'd suddenly freak out and attack her in a maniacal rage or break down crying.

Then, with growing resolve and blatant disregard for common sense, the cat dared fate even further by trying to talk some sense into her unstable owner. "Snap out of it! Kid isn't worth it. He doesn't even love you, nya-"

"SHUT UP!" Blair lunged at her. It all happened so fast that even with her sharp reflexes, the cat realized it was too late only after feeling Blair's fingers wrapping themselves securely around her neck. She lost balance and they fell on the floor.

"YOU LIAR! KID LOVES ME! HE LOVES ME!" she shrieked, squeezing her throat.

The cat tried to kick, scream, and fight back all in a desperate bid to free herself. However, the supposedly injured Blair proved far too strong for her. Her vice-like grip could not be undone by any means.

So, it was only a matter of time before she stopped moving. The enraged image of her dear okami was the last thing she saw before everything went dark. Just as she was about to draw her last breath…

_

* * *

POOF!_

In a surprising turn of events, she suddenly turned into her feline form. Blair was taken aback at first. In that instant, the cat wasted no time recovering and quickly ran for safety.

She slipped through the door and into the bedroom. Taking care not to step on the sharp debris, she jumped over the pieces of broken wood from the armoire and ran full speed towards the exit. Just as she was about to leave, she dared to look back and…

"GOTCHA!" Blair grabbed her by the tail and yanked her up. She hissed and spat angrily, lashing out before reverting back into her human form and falling squarely on her back. Blair immediately got on top of her and pinned her down.

"Okami-sama, stop this!" she pleaded one last time, but Blair would hear nothing of it. She choked her with one hand to shut her up whilst reaching for a weapon with the other. Unfortunately for the cat, shards from the broken mirror were the closest at hand.

"DIE!" she shrieked as she raised the shard of glass before bringing it down on her crying cat.


	22. Saying sorry isn't easy, you know?

**Episode 22: Saying sorry isn't easy, you know!**

* * *

_Knock…Knock…Knock…_

The door of the Pumpkin House stood silent as Death the Kid and the Thompson Sisters waited for someone to answer. It would seem they came bearing gifts as Patty carried with her a large black box with Shinigami emblems marked on each side.

"Ugh, why are we out here again?" asked Liz. Wearing a sleeveless, black-and-white-striped hoodie, she felt the cold desert wind on her bare arms.

"We're here to apologize," replied Kid, straightening his necktie, "and to give her some ice cream."

"This is ice cream?" Patty smiled with delight.

"Well, we've better make it quick. The sun's up and it'll only be a matter of time before that peace offering turns to mush."

"If she's not home, we can still keep the ice cream, right Kid-kun?" asked Patty, salivating at the thought of pure ice cream bliss.

"Impossible," he said, "You guys saw her reaction the other day. Right now, she's probably still hurt and angry at us."

It wasn't long before the door slowly opened…

* * *

"Who is—?" Blair stuck her head out and gasped, "KID!" Upon seeing him, she immediately withdrew and closed the door. The sound of click-clacking locks was heard.

Seeing such a reaction, Liz sighed, "Well, that's that." She and Patty easily resigned to leave, stating that the witch was still upset by whatever had transpired yesterday.

"We can't," said Kid as he prompted to knock once more. Such resolve—it wasn't clear whether it was brought upon by his righteous passion to undo a wrong or perhaps he was just too stubborn to admit defeat—but, whatever the reason, it was probably Kid's fault. The Thompson Sisters agreed.

"I have something very important to tell you, please open up."

"No! You can't…I'm busy… a-anyway, just go away, Kid-kun!" she shouted through the door.

"It's about what happened yesterday," he continued, "Those images I saw..."

The door opened to reveal a pair of glowing yellow eyes amidst a pitch-black room. Expecting a full on monster attack, they were surprised to see her come out smiling and wearing a plain white dress.

"Images?" she innocently asked, keeping her hands behind her back. "If this is about Maka, I think she's alright now, isn't she?"

"I'm not talking about Maka… Those images… they were your memories—"

'NO!" she suddenly yelled, startling them. "I-I mean… you're mistaken, Kid-kun…you were just imagining things," she then laughed happily.

Kid narrowed his eyes, 'is she in denial?' he thought. "I see…" Seeing such erratic behavior, Kid couldn't help but feel uneasy. Common sense dictated him to leave, but he couldn't leave things the way they were now.

"It's not your fault," he said.

"H-Huh?" she was surprised to hear his words.

"None of it was your fault," he said, "You didn't do anything wrong, so you shouldn't blame yourself. In fact, I-it was my fault that you had to relive those painful memories. I'm sorry."

Hearing such words, Blair seemed to be more confused than happy. The Thompson Sisters watched on as Kid apologized, trying to patch things up. Liz sighed, comparing the scene to one of those typical soap opera shows they frequently see on TV, while Patty kept wondering whether she'll be able to keep the ice cream or not.

In the end, a short but happy, "Thank you, Kid-kun," would be said. Though it didn't go according to plan, Kid was still contented to have said what he wanted to say without Asura suddenly putting words in his mouth.

* * *

After Blair waved them goodbye, she closed the door and heaved a heavy sigh. A heavy burden was taken off her chest and she could finally breathe easy. Though the room before her was trashed, she still smiled. She walked over to the kitchen to return the knife she'd been holding all this time. The plastic handle was ruined a bit since she couldn't help but grip it with unbridled anticipation of Kid's upcoming rejection.

Had he said the magic words of "hate" or "leave," then Blair would've been forced to rectify such a careless mistake. Fortunately, it didn't come to that. Plus, Kid not only apologized to her but he didn't even mention Maka's transformation, thus showing just how much he cared and loved her. It looks like things really do work themselves out.

"Did you hear that?" she hollered to the bedroom, "and you said he didn't love me." She chuckled as she went in holding a big bottle of bleach and a couple of garbage bags.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **The next chapter (23) shall be uploaded for your reading pleasure within the next 18 hours... Thank you.


	23. Faithful Reunion

**Episode 23: Faithful Reunion**

* * *

9:30 a.m., Soul & Maka's Apartment, Maka's Room— over an hour had passed and both Maka and Chrona have yet to leave the comforts of the bed. Chrona, who was happily cuddling her best friend, slept soundly.

Meanwhile, Maka was staring at the ceiling. She was reflecting on the events which led to her uncontrollable transformation yesterday in the hopes of making some sense of it all. However, try as she might, the end always came out hazy. She could only remember the moments before the fight and after when she and Chrona were trapped. She sighed at the thought of how tight and cramp it was in there.

"_Help! Somebody, help me!" she screamed, but no sound came out. She was scared and wasn't sure of what was going on. She just woke up and found herself in pitch-black darkness. She tried to move, but there was little space to do so. 'Where am I? Why can't I move?' Such thoughts raced in her mind as she started to panic._

_Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her. She freaked and was about to fight back when a faint voice whispered in her ear, calling her name._

"_Chrona!" she immediately knew who it was. At that instant, the dark veil that muffled her senses was slowly lifted. Thus, with the face of her most beloved finally cast to light, there was nothing stopping her from rushing to her open arms. Alas, if only it were not for the depressing metallic prison around them, such would've made quite the beautiful reunion._

"_Chrona!" as she held her closely, all her fears and worry seemed to melt away. Also, the immediate danger of the surrounding blades vanished when they were found to be surprisingly dull to the touch._

Perhaps the only bad thing about that experience was that it made everyone worry. Regardless of all that's happened, at least everything worked out at the end.

_After the incident, Stein explained to them that her 'extra features' were merely latent attributes brought upon by her own unique biology as the offspring of her weapon father and her meister mother. _

_He assured them that, though this was an unprecedented case, it was completely normal so Maka had nothing to fear. Yet with that being said, nobody failed to notice Stein's youthful enthusiasm in an 'I-wanna-disect-you!' kind of way._

* * *

Anyway, there were still lots of question that remained unanswered. Like, what triggered these latent abilities to manifest? And, why only now? Such power could've really helped her in her battles against Mosquito, Medusa or even against the Kishin.

"How?" she thought, remembering the war of words she had with Black Star. Her memory was a bit hazy, but she was sure that right before _IT _happened, she felt a force of some kind flowing across the yard. It was very vibrant like soul resonance but far more subtle. Afterwards, someone behind her actually whispered, 'Soul Resonance'. So what did it all mean? Considering the flow of energy came first, it could mean that there was a large team resonance occurring silently between the students behind her. But, it still wouldn't explain how things ended up the way it did…unless, of course, she resonated along with them. In doing so, perhaps that surge of energy was enough to—

"No way," she quickly dismissed the notion as impossible given that the mechanics of 'Soul Resonance' and 'Team Resonance' were deeply rooted in the fact that it takes more than one to resonate and that resonance must be between people who are equally compatible with one another. Furthermore, if there was the slightest bit of hesitation or a momentary lapse of concentration, then the resonance would immediately be broken as what had happened with her first team resonance with Kid and Black Star.

As she thought deeply about this matter, Chrona was slowly waking up. And the first thing that came into her perspective was Maka's flat-board body. Despite already knowing this fact about her, she couldn't help but be surprised at exactly how barren they were. She slowly placed her hand atop them just to prove to herself that there was something there when—

"MAKA CHOP!"

The next thing she knew was her face was planted 4 inches into the bed and that almost all sensation to her legs, arms, and body were lost. She also heard something snap, but she wasn't sure whether it was her neck or the bed. Fortunately, this wasn't her first (or her last) Maka Chop, so she was a bit more used to the pain.

"C-Chrona!" gasped Maka, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she tried helping her out.

* * *

Meanwhile, another odd scene was about to take place back at Shibusen…

As Soul wallowed in misery, a certain person happened to pass by. Dressed in the garbs of a Catholic priest and sporting a white skullcap, it was none other than Justin Law, the youngest Death Scythe in the history of Shibusen.

"E-Excuse me, sir." Such words were written on the cardboard-ish-type body of an 'extra' student who approached him.

"Oh, what is it?" he spoke, softly.

Then, the 'student' did an 1800 turn and showed him the writings on his back which were, "Please teach me how to fight as a solo weapon!"

"I see," his eyes saddened, "I'm sorry. But I can't."

The 'student' did another 1800 turn. This time though, "Why?" was written while the previous line was crossed out.

"I don't know. But there's something odd about you…I just can't put my finger on it," he wondered what it was as the 'student' ran off with freshly-drawn tears on his face or perhaps that was his body.

Confusing as it was, this strange encounter managed to give the lost Soul something worth considering.

* * *

Later that morning…

"Not this again!" Soul shouted, standing before a dusty dune buggy whilst being accompanied by his old comrades-in-arms, Mr. Sponge, Mrs. Bucket, and Sir Soap.

"What do you mean?" asked Justin, "These are the basics of your training as—"

"As a car washer!" he interjected, "I thought you were going to teach me how to become a great solo weapon!"

"I am," he replied, calm as ever, "this is just like the movie about a child training with menial chores while chanting the mantra of 'wax on, wax off', right?" Though, as he thought about it, perhaps it was 'jacket on, jacket off' anyway, he wasn't sure.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** As promised, here's a brand new chapter for ya!... Sorry guys that its been a long time before I posted these two... Been kinda busy with my final examz... anyway, I'll be working on the next chapter and I'll try posting it within a week or two... oh, If you guys see any problemz, inconsistent plot flow, grammatic errors, or general comments... please feel free to leave a comment i.e feedbacks are the best way of knowing whether or not people are actually reading my work... Thanks! :D


	24. Eve of the Counterattack

**Episode 24: Eve of the Counterattack**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Greetings! Here's the new chapter! Please Read and Enjoy! :D

* * *

8:00 p.m., Death City— it was a cold and windy night as the Grinning Moon sailed across the starry skies. Looking down upon the land, it widened its ominous 'smile' as the bustling metropolis below anxiously preoccupied itself with tomorrow night's Xmas Eve Party.

However, as the whole city prepared for the upcoming festivities, there were a certain few who were not caught up with the holiday fever and chose to spend their time preparing something else.

Leaping from building to building, these individuals scoured the rooftops of the city. The first ones to reach their supposed destination, a large commercial building overlooking the busy PussyFoot Boulevard, were the meister Ox Ford, and his weapon Harvar. Upon seeing the various booths and kiosks being run by witches, Ox pulled out a small radio.

"Point 1 secured. No problem," he reported.

At the same time, 600 meters west of his position, within the residential district, Kilik Lunge the pot meister together with his weapons stood on Maka & Soul's apartment building. From there, they spotted three witches below selling snake oil to an unwitting crowd of students.

"Point 2 secured. Same here, no problem," radioed Kilik.

Immediately afterwards, something fiery flew past him. He was startled at first, but quickly recognized it to be none other than the lamp meister Kim Diehl and her weapon Jacqueline. "Yahoo!" they happily cheered, rocketing over the busy streets, passing Ox's position, and heading up the arduous stone steps of Shibusen.

Unfortunately, their little merriment was cut short when they reached the top and came face-to-face with the dangerous witch, Blair de Valesti. She didn't do anything except smile at them, yet they quieted down and slowly landed on the stone spire protruding over the schoolyard.

"Um, Point 3 secured. N-Nothing going on here," Kim was a bit shaken up.

"What the heck was that!" Ox complained over the radio. He then reminded them as to how they were given this rare opportunity of finally being given some page time and was quick to point out how important it was for them not to mess it up by flying around like a lunatic.

"Would you quit yelling at us!" she retaliated, annoyed of his know-it-all attitude. "Besides, we got paid to join! So we're not here for your 'precious' page—!"

"Everyone focus!" Blair's voice was heard on the radio. She had donned an earpiece and joined the fray. "The Christmas Eve Party is tomorrow. If you don't get this right, people WILL die!" With that, the bickering stopped.

"That's much better," she said. "Hey Sid, how did it go?"

"Everything's quiet here," he replied from the confines of the Death Room. There, he was accompanied by Nygus and the Death Scythe, Azusa. They were monitoring the screens which displayed the whereabouts of each and every witch in the city including that of Blair. So far, none of them showed any reaction to the flashy spectacle.

"The nerve of that person," Nygus couldn't help but express her ire at Blair's blatant disregard for age and authority when the witch kept addressing Sid as though she were speaking to a subordinate.

* * *

Speaking of the devil, she was signaling the three pairs to rendezvous back at the Death Room. By the time they all arrived, the Shinigami, Marie, Sid, Black Star and Tsubaki were also there.

"Alright people, listen up!" Azusa directed them to one of the larger screens. She had accessed Woogle Earth and showed them an overview map of Death City. She pointed to two buildings, "As planned, Points 1 & 2 will be the focal point of the counterattack since the witches seemed to have conveniently gathered around these populated areas." She highlighted their positions with red blips. Afterwards, she motioned Sid to explain the tactical plan.

"Okay… tomorrow night, we'll be stationing four teams here on the street, the surrounding alleys, and on the roofs," as he said this, blue blips appeared on the screen. "I'll be leading Team Alpha which will be positioned here," a small icon bearing his face appeared on the Main Street. "Both Ox and Kilik will handle the alleyways with Team Bravo and Charlie, respectively. Kim will lead Team Delta and secure the rooftops."

"Yes, sir!" they agreed in unison.

"Wait a minute!" Black Star spoke out after seeing how his face wasn't on the map. "Don't tell me you guys want me to sit this one out! 'Cos I won't!" He was immediately backed up by Tsubaki, who also wanted to help.

"I'm sorry, but this is a VERY delicate operation that requires both subtlety and team coordination," Azusa flashed her glasses to Black Star, "As such, you possess none of these traits. Furthermore, considering your inherent need to show-off, your presence alone would be enough to compromise the whole mission, not to mention endanger the lives of innocent civilians."

"Then why were we called here in the first place!"

"Ahem," Azusa cleared her throat. "I'm sure that all of you have already heard the rumors about Shinigami-sama showing his true face during the festivities," her cold steely gaze shifted to the Shinigami. "I have no idea how it started, but I can assure you that there is absolutely NO truth to these rumors. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to quell it down, it managed to get online and went viral. Now, the whole world wants to witness this occasion. In doing so, don't be surprised to see international media people roaming around the city." Afterwards, she turned to Black Star and Tsubaki. "Now, you two have been called here to provide assistance. With most of the personnel diverted to keeping order and security around the city, we have little to spare concerning Shinigami-sama's personal protection. So, you two will be his body guards for the duration of the evening, understood?"

Black Star quickly protested his role, stating that he was a fighter not a baby sitter. Besides, Death the Kid would've been the better choice for the role seeing as how the Shinigami was HIS father. Unfortunately, he was just as quickly scolded for insubordination. At the same time, Blair could only smile as Black Star stormed off in anger.

* * *

9:23 p.m., Shibusen forest grounds— it's been half an hour since he left the meeting and since then, he's been venting his frustration at the local hardwood. Punching and kicking whatever stood in his way, he had already felled fifteen trees by the time Blair found him.

"Ah, are you still crying for being left out?" she chuckled, sitting atop a high branch.

In response, he delivered a pulverizing punch to the tree and broke the trunk in half. "Leave me alone!" he snarled.

"Come on, don't be like that. I just want to help," she said, sitting atop the high branch of another tree.

"I don't need your help!" he also brought that tree down.

"Fine," she landed a safe distance away, "If you don't want to be part of the counterattack, then I guess I'll ask Tsubaki-chan to handle it alone," she began to walk away slowly.

"Wait!" was the all too typical response.

Blair turned around, Black Star had his head hung low and his shoulders dropped as he heaved a heavy sigh and said, "Okay. What do I have to do?"

Hearing this, Blair looked up to the Grinning Moon—its menacing 'smile' matched hers.

_Everything is in place. Now, all that's left is …_


	25. Xmas isn't Only About Getting Gifts

**Episode 25: Xmas isn't Only About Getting Gifts, Ya Know!**

* * *

Blair turned around. Black Star had his head hung low and his shoulders dropped as he heaved a heavy sigh and said, "Okay. What do I have to do?"

Hearing this, Blair looked up to the Grinning Moon, its menacing 'smile' matched hers.

_Everything is in place. Now, all that's left is for tomorrow …_

* * *

3:00 p.m., the next day— It was the 24th, the day of the Xmas Eve Party, and the classic song 'Jingle Bells' repeated itself over the loud speakers. With only 4 hours to go before the celebration starts, the main streets of Death City were filled with students, parents, tourists, and the like. The official counting has pegged the number of visitors to almost a million.

As expected, the event was covered by the international media as the largest costumed celebration of its kind in the world. While many of reporters were scattered along the streets interviewing passersby, others opted to get a bird's eye view and ascended to the rooftops instead.

"Wow! I've never seen so many people!" gasped Marie as she and Azusa manned the screens of the Death Room.

"I agree. It seems I've underestimated the number of visitors. This is most distressing," she sighed. Switching from one camera to the next, she found the situation even more troubling as more and more people flooded the streets, the witches they monitored were growing more difficult to pick out in a crowd of costumed creatures.

"Hello! Hello! Happy Halloween!" the Shinigami hollered. Adorning a bright red Santa suit, he entered riding a small sleigh drawn by actual reindeers.

"Happy Halloween, Shinigami-sama!" greeted Marie.

"Halloween? Shouldn't it be Merry Xmas?" Azusa corrected him and then pointed to his outfit, "That doesn't suit you. Now, where is your real Xmas costume?"

"But this IS my Xmas costume," he said, looking quite confused.

"Really?" Azusa suddenly realized something dire, "Wait! That means-"

"Merry Xmas everybody!" Blair shouted, as she entered the Death Room. In contrast to her greeting though, she appeared wearing a flowing black robe with a large scythe in hand. With a wicked skull masking her face, she greeted them once more a Merry Xmas as she pulled in a cart-full of gifts.

"Wow! So this is what the Halloween-Xmas celebration means," Marie complemented the switching.

"I bear gifts!" cheered Blair, placing a large one on a desk only to open it and reveal a skull-shaped chocolate cake.

"The mission hasn't been completed and yet you're already celebrating?" Azusa asked suspiciously.

"Yummy! That looks delicious!" the Shinigami brought out his china set.

"Shinigami-sama, this is serious! We can't allow ourselves to be distracted by-"

"Come on, where's your holiday spirit?" chuckled Blair, setting a large thermos on the table.

"Nothing's happening, right? So why don't you join us, Azusa." said Marie, pouring herself a drink from a tea pot.

"You too, Marie!" she screamed. Her friend could only reply with a wry smile. Almost losing her composure, Azusa tried to reaffirm the situation before it went out of control. She looked at them with all seriousness and flashed her glasses—chilling the atmosphere— "Ahem… well, regardless of the occasion, we still have a mission to complete. As such, it stands to reason that we should prioritize it above-"

"Itadakimasu!" they said.

"ARE YOU GUYS EVEN LISTENING TO ME!" Azusa lost her composure in the end.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in the desert, the sound of an engine echoed throughout. Then, a large dune buggy with a coffin attached to it jumped out from behind the dunes. Driven by none other than the Death Scythe Justin Law, it roared across the sands heading straight for Death City.

Almost an hour later, it reached the front door of Maka & Soul's apartment building. After turning off the engine, Justin got down and dusted himself off. Curiously enough, his usual priestly garbs were damaged and torn. He also had scrapes and bruises on his arms and body as though he just come from a fight. Furthermore, there were black rings under his eyes. He looked up at the clear blue sky and yawned. His shoulders dropped and he had to lean on his ride to keep himself from falling down.

Then, the doors of the apartment opened up and out came Maka. "Law-san!* What happened to you? Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he groaned, opening the coffin and showing her an unconscious Soul. Just like him, the boy was covered with light wounds and bruises. He also had dark rings underneath his eyes.

"Soul! W-What happened to him?" she gasped.

Now leaning on one of the wheels of his ride, he massaged the back of his neck and said, "Yesterday, he insisted that I train him to become a solo fighter. I'm not really sure what he was thinking, but he wanted to learn in one night what I could teach him in a month. So, we trained throughout the night until a few hours ago when he finally dropped like a rock."

"I…see," Maka seemed saddened if not disappointed after hearing this.

"Anyway, I have to go and speak to the Shinigami, so I'll leave this guy in your care," he said. Unfortunately, since the main roads were filled with people, Justin had to hoof it.

* * *

At the same time, back at the Death Room, tea time was almost over. With Blair the Witch and Marie finishing their last cup of Darjeeling, Azusa couldn't help but urge them to get back to work.

"Fine…we get it already," Blair puffed her cheeks at the party pooper. As Marie took away the china, Blair gathered up her stuff and headed to the exit, "Well, I still got more gifts to deliver before its show time so see ya!"

With her departure, Azusa heaved a sigh of relief. "Finally, we can get back to wo— what the!" she noticed something at the corner of her eye.

"Is something wrong?" asked the Shinigami as Azusa frantically typed on the keyboard. She displayed the live feed from each and every camera on one large screen to confirm her fears.

"We have a problem," she could only say as the witches and their kiosks were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Elsewhere, Blair the Witch was busy checking her Xmas list. With the names of Marie and Azusa crossed off, all that was left were the names of Spirit and Stein.

"Merry Xmas!" she greeted them in the school's cafeteria.

"What do you want?" snapped Spirit, munching on a club sandwich. Still wearing the usual black suit with red tie, the smelly Death Scythe hid no secret of his hygiene. He probably hasn't taken a bath since the incident with Maka's blades.

"I bear gifts!" she smiled, placing two items on the table before them. For Stein, it was a small rectangular box while for Spirit, it was a picture frame—the shape was a dead giveaway.

"Isn't it a bit early to celebrate?" Stein said, mimicking the same cold expression of Azusa, "If the plan fails…dire consequences would certainly befall its planner, wouldn't it?" he said with a smile that betrayed the utter contempt he tried so much to conceal.

"I'm certain it would," Blair chuckled as she went on her way.

Considering that _that_ wasn't the typical response one would expect from a threat, Stein couldn't help but question the plan and her motives even more as he peeled the wrapper of his present.

"DEATH" was the label of the black cigarette box with a skull and crossbones logo. "How nostalgic," he thought.

As for Spirit, he waited until the witch was out of sight before quickly ripping off the wrapper of his present which was none other than the picture of a smiling Maka wearing a white dress…and married to Soul.

"NOOOO!" a loud cry echoed throughout the school.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: First and foremost, I would like to thank you guys for your patience in waiting for this update! Thanks for bearing with me! T_T

Clarification: * "Law-san!" - was used 'coz (basing on the anime only) I really don't know how Maka addresses him... If you guys are reading the manga, please correct me... Thanks!

Anyway, as we move ever closer to the climax... I'll try my best to update before this week ends... So stay tuned! (or something like that)


	26. It's the thought that counts, right?

**Episode 26: It's the thought that counts, right!**

* * *

6:06 p.m., same day—barely an hour to go before the party starts and Shibusen officials were seen scurrying about making sure that everything was ready. With everyone i.e. the students, their parents, tourists, average citizens, and the media, all waiting anxiously for the so-called, "Party of the Year", everything must go off perfectly.

That was the plan, but at the Death Room, the atmosphere was anything but perfect.

"Where are they?" Azusa began to panic as no matter how much she focused and repositioned the cameras, she has yet to locate a single witch. Then, the communication lines opened up and Sid's voice was heard. "Sid reporting: No signs of them in the square." He was then followed by Kilik, Ox, and Kim—all of whom had the same disappointing report.

"I see," Azusa clenched her teeth. It would seem that despite her vigilance, the targets were still able to elude her…all thanks to the foolish actions of _some_ people. She gave a long cold stare at Marie and the Shinigami.

"I-I guess I better get back to work," Marie smiled, walking slowly towards the exit.

"Well, I have to go somewhere too, so…" the Shinigami chuckled on his way out.

All of a sudden, a pair of hands reached forth and grabbed them by the shoulder. A cold chill ran down their spines as they turned to see Azusa, her cold stare now frigid, "After getting me into this mess…you don't plan on making me handle it alone, are you!" she grinned.

* * *

As the Shinigami and his accomplice face the frozen depths of hell, at Soul & Maka's apartment, the mood was a bit cheerier. Thanks to the loud and noisy activities outside, Soul woke up and found himself in his room. The lights were out and the window was open so it was a bit dark and cold…

_Achoo!_

He sneezed and then groaned, "What time is it?" He reached into the darkness and felt the lamp and alarm clock on his bedside table.

_Click!_

"I'm gonna be late!" he immediately got up as soon as he saw the time. But when he tried to stand, it was then that he felt just how tired and aching his muscles were. He forced himself to take a step, only to fall down on his face. Weak and tired, he couldn't help but appreciate how nice and comfy the floor was. To think that the cold, hard, wooden floor felt so good, no wonder Black Star and Tsubaki slept in futons. Wooden floors = awesome beds. Who knew!

As he slowly drifted into sleep once more, the thoughts of yesterday's hardships lingered in his mind: the difficulty of learning how to fight alone, spending all night training his newfound skills, and finally surviving Justin Law in a one-on-one fight. He heaved a sigh of relief as such worries were behind him now. All that was left was to enjoy his well-earned rest and dream of better days with none other than his beloved…

"Maka!" he gasped, shocking himself awake. "Darn it!" he hit the floor, cursing himself for almost forgetting why he went through all that hard training in the first place.

It was all for that girl. He wanted to show her how strong and dependable he was. You see, during the Kishin incident, he fell under the maddening influence of black blood and the person that risked everything to save him was Maka. From that moment on, he was always in awed by her. Despite her headstrong and stubborn attitude as well as flat-as-a-board body, she was undoubtedly the best thing that ever came into his life since the piano.

"I can't give up. Not now," he said to himself as he slowly got up to his feet.

With the lamp and alarm clock telling him there was still time left, he managed to get to the door. Half-expecting her to be on the other side, he found a glowing pumpkin instead.

Made of plastic with a small candle inside, it sat atop the table lighting only a small portion of the room. Looking about, nobody seemed to be around. "It figures, considering what time it was, she already went ahead," he thought. Then, as he approached the plastic pumpkin, something surprising caught his attention.

"What's this?" he wondered, seeing two gift boxes behind the pumpkin. One was larger than the other, but both were covered with the same design wrapping paper—black overall with shinigami skulls and crossbones.

"For Soul," read the card. It was probably from Maka. Opening the larger one first, he was surprised to find a crisp black tux complete with a dark red tie. Seeing this, there was no doubt in his mind that it came from Maka since no one knew his taste in suits better than that her.

"Wait a minute!" he gasped. If that was true, then this gift meant that she was expecting him to wear it which further meant that she wanted him to be at the party with her.

"Ha-ha-ha!" he couldn't help himself from laughing for being such a fool. Had he been a meister, he would've hit himself with his own weapon.

Opening the smaller box, he found a small red flask labeled, "Get well soon!" Considering the first gift, this might be a pain reliever or cure of some sort to help him get to the party in one piece. He smiled, thinking of how thoughtful Maka's gifts were.

"Bottoms up!" he drank it all down in one go.

* * *

Thirty minutes before show time, the Panting Sun finally sets and disappears over the horizon. With that, the Grinning Moon gracefully enters the scene and bathes the land with a gentle glow. In its wake, the city comes alive to greet the night with a magnificent show of colorful lights.

Looking at the spectacular view from one of the high balconies of the school, Death the Kid happily stood there smiling as he could see it all in flames…


	27. PreParty Preparations

**Episode 27: Pre-Party Preparations**

* * *

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kid smiled.

"K-Kid-kun!"

"Hmm?" he turned around and found Blair standing there surprised. Speaking of surprises, she was wearing the same outfit she wore at their very first meeting on the Shibusen spires during the "Kishin's Defeat Party!" which, if memory serves correctly, ended up with her abducting him.

Anyway, the outfit was a frilly, raven-black dress with small bat-like wings protruding from the back. This, along with her blood-red hair, soulless yellow-eyes, and astonishing beauty, gave her a fearsome yet seductive aura.

"Oh, it's you," he said, annoyed.

"W-What are you doing here, Kid-kun? Aren't you supposed to pick up…Maka?" she almost cringed at the name.

"Maka? Ah, don't worry. I already sent her Chrona. I'm sure they'll be here any moment now."

"I see…" she sounded a bit disappointed for a moment before suddenly becoming all smiles and giggles as she backed away, "W-Well, I better go help with the party!" Turning around though, her smile faded as fast as it formed. Now that Chrona was added to the mix, she had to make a few troublesome adjustments to fit her into her plans. Truly, that Kid was such a tease…giving her so much work just to test her love for him. Well, regardless, she still smiled to herself, "I love a good challenge."

* * *

Seeing her disappear past a group of students and stagehands, Kid sighed. "Now, before being so rudely interrupted, where were we?" he said, turning about. However, instead of the beautiful view of the city, he was greeted with the familiar barren wasteland that was the inner depths of his soul.

"What are you planning?" asked the real Death the Kid as he stood defiantly before the imposter.

"Patience, dear brother, it won't be long before you and I will be free from each other," he replied, examining the heavy iron chains that bound the poor boy to a colossal pair of crosses. Fortunately, those things were at equal distances from his sides, giving him some measure of peace knowing that at least he was bound with perfect symmetry. Had it not, the effects would quite have been most maddening to say the least.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Death Room, Azusa, Marie and the Shinigami were hard at work trying to locate the elusive witches.

"There it is!" gasped Marie, pointing to the exact moment when all of the witches simultaneously packed up and left. She had been reviewing the camera footages leading up to their disappearance and found that they all took their cue to leave at the exact time the 'Jingle Bells' song finished. Furthermore, this was just before Blair and the Shinigami made their entrance. "Coincidence or perhaps a distraction?" that question lingered in their minds as the Shinigami, who didn't take it too kindly at being used, immediately ordered her to be found and questioned.

However, summoning her via the intercom would tip her off and confronting her out in the open would cause quite the ruckus especially with international delegates roaming the city. So, to minimize any unwanted damage, casualty, or publicity, two of his best covert agents were sent to intercept her.

"Well, that's that," the Shinigami sighed, quickly turning back into his usual care-free self.

"That's it!" Azusa was shocked at the turn of events, "If Blair was planning something, then we have to abort the mission! For all we know, it could all be a trap for us!"

But, the Shinigami told her to calm down. He assured her that he already had a backup plan in place just in case something like this happened. Then, all of a sudden, Justin Law rushed in panting and calling his name. He tried to talk, but gasped for air instead.

"Here, drink some of this," the Shinigami took the large thermos off the table and poured him a cup of coffee.

"Thank you, Shinigami-sama," he was able to say after a few gulps.

"Are you alright? What happened?" asked Marie, seeing the bags under his eyes and the scrapes and bruises on his body.

"Training," he said, "but, something happened when I went for Excalibur!"

"Excalibur?" Azusa remembered the annoying little creature that visited them during the Kishin incident. Then, she realized something and looked at the Shinigami, "Wait! You're backup plan is to use that _thing_!"

"Well, more or less," he answered sheepishly, "Anyway, what happened? Do you have him?"

"I'm sorry, Shinigami-sama. But, when I got there…" he recounted how, on the way home after his one-on-one showdown with Soul, he took a slight detour to the lair of Excalibur as was earlier commanded by the Shinigami. As he trudged through the dank cave, he noted how strange it was that not a single fairy approached to greet him for they were known to be very friendly and accommodating. Alas, it was only at the end did he find out the reason for this.

He then described that some sort of plague or epidemic befell the fairy population. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw them littered on the ground. They were in so much pain and agony as their bellies were swollen stiff. Many of them suffered from intense delusions as they were actually singing merrily despite the terrible affliction. When he tried asking them what had happened, they kept offering him something to drink instead. "It was horrible," he winced.

Hearing his tragic account, the Shinigami and the two death scythes looked at one another in utter disbelief. "So, in other words, the fairies were just wasted?" Marie concluded.

"It would seem so," the Shinigami sighed and then gave Justin a shinigami chop for wasting their time with such outlandish tales. (Although in his defense, exhaustion and naiveté did play a major role in his confusion.) Despite the misunderstanding, at least some good came out of it as Justin told them that one of the fairies mentioned something about the Shinigami's son taking their _problem_ away with him.

"Kid-kun?" the father was quick to react, "are you sure?" However, he wasn't quick enough for exhaustion had finally caught up with the death scythe as he fell asleep on the floor.

Seeing as it was futile to press on for more information, the Shinigami ordered the two remaining weapons to hold down the fort as he decided to go straight to the source.


	28. Dancing in the Dark

**Episode 28: Dancing in the Dark; Idiots-in-love doom the World**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys! Sorry it took so very looong... Hehe, just got a little sidetracked in my writing... found my old Final Fantasy 7 for PC game, you see... and well, weeks later... still mourning the loss of that certain game character (Yeah, I already knew how it'd turn out, but still)... A-Anyway, here's the chapter 28... enjoy! :D

* * *

6:22 p.m., same day — Minutes before the festivities and the witches still remain to be found. Azusa and Marie vigilantly search for any signs of them. Yet, despite all these setbacks, the 'Break-The-Soul-Protect-Spell' plan will still move ahead as scheduled. Sid and the rest of the ambush forces remain hidden in their posts.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the steps leading to Shibusen, huge crowds of people stood there waiting anxiously behind the velvet red line just to have a look at the world's greatest unsung heroes. With the large number of reporters, cameramen, and paparazzi there, one would think it was the night of the Oscars or something.

Then, all of a sudden, people started screaming and cameras started flashing as one of the most distinguishable students appeared.

Her name was on every reporter's lips as they showed to the world the face of she who defeated the Kishin. "Maka Albarn!" they cheered as she past them.

Surprisingly enough, for such a grand occasion, she opted for something plain as she wore a simple but sexy black dress paired with red high-heels. Her usual pigtails were put down and a beautiful white lily was added to give her a much more mature and sophisticated look. Thankfully, she left her Mickey Mouse gloves at home.

Escorting her to the party was Chrona. Interestingly, she wore a white tuxedo which was in stark contrast to Maka's dark attire. Moreover, her usual messy hair was swept back and styled with gel to give her a much more sleek and masculine look. In fact, most of the reporters thought 'him' to be Albarn's plus one.

As they walked towards the stone steps, Chrona couldn't stop shaking like a leaf. With all the commotion, attention, and flash photography, it was a wonder that she didn't collapse any sooner.

"It's alright, Chrona. I'm here," Maka gently whispered to her as she took her hand and held it tightly.

"M-Maka," a faint sigh escaped her lips as one look at her smiling filled her with such an overwhelming feeling that she was almost brought to tears. "I uh…thank you," she finally smiled as they walked together, hand-in-hand, while those around them cheered for the couple.

* * *

Considering what just happened, it obvious that the Xmas Eve Party was quite different from the other previous gatherings and celebrations of the school wherein the students would normally arrive in their usual getups and then change into their formal wear. The main reason of why this is would be the overwhelming media coverage. With everyone expecting the Shinigami to show his face, the surge of news reporters, photographers, paparazzi, and other media personnel increased exponentially.

Moreover, due to more recent incidents such as the failed mission in Paris that resulted in millions of dollars of property damage, countless lawsuits, irreparable damage to the Notre Dame, and not to mention the fact that the witches responsible were able to escape, has damaged the unquestionable authority of Shibusen and the Shinigami as the first and last line of defense against the evil witches.

With that, leaders all over the world have begun to question the capabilities of the school in the handling of witches and in the collection of kishin eggs. As such, many have sent diplomats and representatives to meet with the Shinigami and convey their dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council even sent several official and 'non-official' watch dogs to monitor the school and its students. They're most likely trying to assess whether or not the almighty Shibusen is still fit to handle the job.

Thus, it was imperative that the school displays a show of confidence to assure everyone that despite all these problems, there was no reason to fear for there was nothing wrong. As such, each and every student attending the Xmas Eve Party was instructed to look their best and strut their stuff, especially now that the whole world was watching.

But, due to the suddenness of all these, certain things that were usually part of the norm have suddenly become major problems. One of which would be…

* * *

"That stupid idiot!" Maka cursed the Shinigami as she staggered halfway up the stone steps on her high-heels. "Would it hurt at all to install a damn elevator!" she cried out as she sat down on one of the steps.

"How bad does it hurt?" asked Chrona as she helped her take off her footwear which have already begun to show serious signs of wear and tear—not surprising considering the amount of punishment it took.

"I-It's alright, Chrona. You really don't have to- woah!" she suddenly flinched the moment Chrona's warm hands touched her feet.

Then, as she started rubbing her toes, Maka let out a sigh of relief. Gauging from her reactions, Chrona was able to determine the exact points on her feet that needed some extra good rubbing. Unsurprisingly, her foot-rubbing techniques were quite superb that Maka found it really difficult to maintain her composure. "Y-You really don't have to do this," she tried saying.

"It's alright, really," smiled Chrona, "I'm used to it since I used to do the same thing with Medusa-sa—"

Maka suddenly pulled away, "You REALLY don't have to do this," her embarrassed-face swiftly turned cold and stern.

Fearing she done wrong, Chrona immediately tried to apologize. Unfortunately, Maka didn't want to hear any of it as she put on her high-heels and stomped up those steps…

_Snap!_

* * *

Only a few steps above did her right heel finally give out. She lost balance and fell backwards, prompting a quick catch by Chrona.

"Are you okay?" she sighed with relief.

"C-Chrona," Maka blushed, unable to look her in the eye.

"It's alright, but can you stand?" she cringed, "You're a bit heavy, so I can't keep—"

"I'm fine! I can walk by myself," she snapped back, pulling herself away. It was vintage-Maka, showing off the headstrong and stubborn attitude she was well-known for. Then, despite her aching feet and damaged footwear, she was about ready to march up those steps again when a pair of hands suddenly wrapped themselves around her body and restrained her in a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry, Maka," she said. Speaking with no hesitation, she was assertive yet sincere enough in her apology that Maka paused to listen. "I'm sorry for bringing up my mo…Medusa. And I'm sorry that I'm not strong enough to carry you…in my arms or on my back—"

With that, Maka seemed to take offence once more as she struggled to free herself when Chrona suddenly jerked her back, "BUT…I am strong enough…to stand beside you and support you all the way," Chrona tightened her embrace as she drew close to her ear and whispered softly, "if you let me, Maka." After such words, all resistance seems to melt away as Maka stopped trying to escape.

"Chrona…" she spoke.

"Yes, Maka?"

"You're a total idiot."

"Ma-ka," sighed Chrona.

She chuckled as she turned around to face her. "At least we'll be idiots together," she whispered. With their lips drawing ever closer, the Grinning Moon kindly allowed them privacy as it faded behind the clouds and left them in the dark.


	29. Rising Momentum

**Episode 29: Rising Momentum**

* * *

It was 6:35 p.m., same day— The Xmas Eve Party was going to be held at the schoolyard. As such, the grand Xmas tree standing before the school was moved over to the side nearest to the stone steps. Moreover, the school entrance was blocked by a grand stage already set up for live performance whilst the rest of the area was filled with fancy tables and chairs. Most of the guests were already present and dressed in their fancy clothes and dashing attires. It WAS a black tie event after all. Was—being the appropriate term considering that turntables, headsets, mixers, and a few more things of the sort weren't what you'd typically find in any formal gathering.

"Okay, now put those two over there and there," Liz ordered as a few 'extra' students positioned TV cameras, lights, and other props to fully complete the stage.

"Liz, what's going on down there?" radioed Marie as she and Azusa were monitoring their activities from the Death Room.

Liz looked around and saw the security camera, "Oh hey! We're just setting up the stage."

"I see. Is Kid there by any chance?"

"Sorry, haven't seen him. But I'm sure he'll turn up later."

"Okay. How about Blair?"

"Nope. Sorry, haven't seen her either," she answered. "But I'll let 'cha know if I see her," she waved at them before continuing with her work.

* * *

"Nothing but bad news." Still having no leads in the whereabouts of the witches, Azusa sighed heavily as she reclined on her seat.

"Tired?" inquired Marie. "I think there's still some coffee left in here," she inspected the large thermos left on the table.

"Alright, pour me a cup then," she said, taking off her glasses with one hand whilst rubbing her eyes with the other. In doing so, she felt the utmost relief as this little act greatly eased the stress burdening her mind.

Meanwhile, Marie looked at her and smiled. Seeing that weary side of hers, she recalled their younger days as students when they were always studying for the next big test. During those happy days, Azusa always had the highest grade—a true exemplar of what a student ought to be. But even then, she was always pushing herself. Sometimes, she'd go overboard and end up passing out due to exhaustion.

"Here," she handed her a hot cup of coffee. "You better rest a while. It's still a few hours before the Witching Hour, so you should save your strength 'till then."

"I can't, not as long as that witch is calling the shots," she mumbled, taking several sips.

"Well, I guess it's back to work then," Marie chuckled before emptying the rest of her cup. "But you know, after all of this is over and we've caught all the witches, do you think there'll be more?"

"More?"

"Kishin eggs, I mean. You see, I've been wondering…since we've already defeated the Kishin and after we've captured each and every witch including the Witch Queen, do you think the fighting will stop? And if no, then when will it stop? Will it ever stop?" she asked, sounding desperate for an answer.

"Well, I'm not sure how to answer that, Marie. As death scythe, our duty is to assist the Shinigami in the fight against the Kishin…but if that ends then…I'm not sure. A-Anyway, it's best if we don't think of that yet."

"I supposed you're right," she yawned.

"Well, anyhow, what kind of coffee is this, exactly? It's really good. Is this that Rumba coffee I've heard so much about?" she asked, trying to change the topic.

"Don't know. There's no label on the thermos," she yawned again.

"Thermos?" she looked at the large container on the table. "Wait! Wasn't that the same one Blair came in with?"

"I dunno…Justin-kun drank some earlier and…he seems fine," she said, sounding a bit woozy.

"Justin?" Azusa looked over to the young death scythe that was still fast asleep on the floor, and then back to Marie, who was now sleeping on her seat. "Why that sly little…" she finally realized too late as her empty cup fell to the floor.

* * *

Minutes later, the communications line beeped and Sid radioed in. "Sid reporting, major movement here on the rooftops. Shibusen students, lots of them, and they're installing something on the billboards. Is this part of the plan or should we stop them?"

There was no reply. "Death Room, respond!" Sid repeated and still got nothing but silence. "What's wrong with them? Why aren't they responding?" he wondered.

"Perhaps they were attacked," Nygus suggested as she transformed into her human form.

"Unlikely. Shinigami-sama is up there with three of his strongest death scythes. I'm sure even the witch queen wouldn't dare attack them, let alone take them all out," he tried radioing them again, but received the same response. "Whatever the problem is, if it was endangering the mission, we would've been notified immediately."

"Okay. Then, what is your order? Should we stand down?"

"Hmm. Since we can't afford to compromise our positions by going there and asking them what they're doing, we better continue monitoring them. Besides, those are OUR students. I highly doubt they're up to something bad. Though, just to be safe, nobody let your guards down," he radioed to the other teams.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Death Room, all was quiet as Azusa, Marie, and Justin were sound asleep. Azusa was slumped over the controls, her hand outreached to the comm. line. It would appear as though she tried to contact someone, but alas.

What's even more unfortunate here was the fact that despite the increasing number of cameras that were now showing positive sightings of witches around the city, it was all in vain as no one was left standing to monitor them.

An example of such a sighting would be that taken by a single camera at the school's main hallway where Blair was shown walking by…

"Seriously, what the heck is that boy up to?" Blair thought, counting each step to the entrance.

"Where do you think you're going?" someone called out.

"Eh?" she looked around for that person. "Oh. It's just those idiots," she thought, seeing Stein and Spirit blocking her path. "Hi, I'm just heading off to join the party. Nothing suspicious here," she chuckled.

"Shinigami-sama's looking for you. You better go to the Death Room," said Spirit, cutting straight to the point.

"Oh, is that so?" her eyes narrowed. "And if I refuse?"

In response, Spirit changed his right arm into a large scythe blade, "I was hoping you'd say that," he smiled.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hey again! I'll be updating the 30th chap within 24 hours of this release... So, please continue reading and don't forget to **comment**! (Seriously, please do. Just let me know you're still alive :D)


	30. PreParty Hold Up

**Episode 30: Pre-Party Hold Up**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well, it took a bit longer than planned... But here it is: Chapter 30... enjoy reading! :D

* * *

It was 6:41 p.m., same day—Liz had just double-checked everything to ensure that things would go on smoothly. She had several of her staff retest the lightings, the sound system, and even the cameras.

"Wow! I've never seen you work so hard before," her younger sister said in awe.

"Y-Yeah, I never knew I could do this too," she chuckled. "Whatever Blair did, it really changed me for some reason…"

* * *

_A few hours before the party, Liz and her sister were walking towards Shibusen. Death the Kid had already left minutes earlier without even as much as a heads up._

_"What are we supposed to wear tonight?" Liz thought._

_Usually, days before any important event like parties or whatnot, Kid would accompany them to the tailor. There, he would then pick out what design their matching clothes would look like. It was pretty annoying at first, but over time, they got used to it._

_But now, with only a few hours left, he has not once mentioned anything about their attire. Moreover, he's been really quiet these past few days. They tried their best to talk to him, but he would act as though they weren't even there. In an effort to get some kind of reaction from him, Patty even went as far as to misalign a few picture frames at home in the hopes of seeing a freak-out but still nothing._

_"Kid-kun's really been acting weird," Patty pouted._

_"I couldn't agree more," Blair said, walking alongside them._

_"Yeah, I mea—Whoa!" they gasped at the suddenness of her appearance. "W-Where the hell did you come from!" Liz couldn't help but point at the shinigami-costumed witch._

_"Oh, don't mind me," she said. "Now, you were talking about Kid-kun. Do continue."_

_"O-Okay… um, so Kid's been acting strange-er than usual. I think he's still bummed over the fact that he's brothers with Asura."_

_"You think so? Well, if you're interested, I have a sure way of getting Kid-kun back to normal."_

_"What do we have to do?" asked Patty._

_"Nothing dangerous, just show up for the party and do a few things for me."_

_"You aren't pulling our leg, are you?" Liz asked, suspiciously._

_"Here," she each handed them a Xmas present, "something cool to wear for the party."_

_Patty quickly unwrapped hers and found a witch's outfit complete with a pointy hat. "Awesome! I'm a witch now!"_

_Liz unwrapped hers and found the same thing, albeit in a different size. "Uh, thanks," she said, looking unsure of the gift._

_Underneath her skull-mask, Blair smiled. "Oh yeah, before I forget," she slapped her hands on their shoulder and whispered, "Chain Resonance."_

_Right there and then, in the middle of the crowded street, the three girls had a silent team resonance. The Thompson Sisters could feel their souls perfectly synchronizing with Blair's…_

* * *

"Cool flashback!" Patty chuckled.

"Yeah, it is," smiled Liz. "So, what're we suppose to do with that again?" she pointed to a large book lying beside a stack of records.

So old that even the crimson-red color of its leather-cover had faded, this tome was the Book of Exorcism Kid had them lift from the library a few days ago. It had no distinguishable markings and, what's even more surprising was that it had nothing written on its pages.

"Kid really tried to figure out how to use this thing. He wouldn't even sleep or eat anything at all. But, he had to give up at some point. I only wish he hadn't begun keeping to himself after that," Liz sighed as she briefly skimmed the empty pages.

"I want Kid-kun to be Kid-kun again!" pouted Patty.

"Don't worry. If Blair's plan works, we'll have him back good as new," she smiled.

* * *

Speaking of the witch, she was currently in a showdown with Spirit and Stein…

Considering that the distance between them was at least 5 meters (16.4 feet), the hallway width at around 10 meters (32.8 feet) and the ceiling height at around 15 meters (49.21 feet), Stein estimated her chances of getting past them either by going around or above them to be quite low.

At the same time, he weighed her strengths and abilities against theirs. Knowing that the witch utilized sound and sonic resonance, he knew that in the narrow hallway a frontal assault would prove to be dangerous for them. However, since she was in a dress and wearing high-heels, speed was obviously not on her side. As Stein formulated a plan of attack, Spirit did most of the talking.

"So, what's it going to be?" he asked.

Feeling the tension rising quickly, Blair sighed with annoyance, "I don't have time for this. Instead of pestering me, don't you old geezers have **somewhere** better to be?"

"Che. Is that the best line you can come up with, witch?" spat Spirit.

"Okay. Since you're too old and stupid to understand, how about I spell it out for you?" she smiled. "Right now, Maka is at the party wearing a **very** cute dress. Soul will be arriving at any moment. So, are you sure you want to stay here and miss tha—eh?"

Before she could even finish, Spirit had already left screaming, "Maka! I'm coming!"

* * *

Taken aback by this, Blair couldn't help but comment on how ridiculously easy that was. She laughed as she turned to her next opponent, "And then there was one."

Despite her minor victory, he didn't seem fazed by it. Instead, he calmly took out a cigarette stick from one of his pockets. "Seems like it, but I'm more than enough to stop you," he said.

"Are you sure? I heard you needed Spirit just to defeat Medusa. But without him now, are you sure you can pull off another win?" she smiled.

"By Medusa, don't you mean your sister?" he said, lighting the cigarette stick and taking a quick puff.

Blair's smile quickly disappeared. Her expression was now of surprise, but with a very subtle hint of fear—something that Stein was quick to detect.

"Did you really think it wasn't that obvious?" he pressed on, smoking away as he did.

"H-How did you... Does everyone know this?" she asked as she tried to compose herself.

Yet, try as she might, it was a little too late as Stein, with the power of observation, was able to bluff her into revealing such a valuable piece of information. "Well, they do now," he looked up at the security camera directed at them.

"I see. So, what do you think happens now?" her smile returned, quite surprisingly. "Will I be killed on the spot for being related to someone?"

"Not really. It's just a good enough reason to lock you up for good. But, considering how dangerous you are, I'm sure people will understand if I just **had** to defend myself," he grinned with a crazed, _'__I-__wanna-dissect-you!__'_ look in his eyes.


	31. Unseen Influence

**Episode 31: Unseen Influence**

* * *

"Smoking kills, you know? Not to mention, second-hand smoking harms those around you," Blair said as Stein finished one stick and brought out another.

"Well, second-hand smoking is the least of your worries," he replied. After a quick puff, he immediately charged forth. In a split second, he closed the distance between them and attacked from a low angle.

By doing this, he made himself a smaller target. If she unleashed something like a sonic blast at that range, then at least the sound waves would only affect a small portion of his body. Had he leaped up and attacked from above, then his entire body would've been exposed to a sonic attack.

Thankfully, Blair was so overwhelmed by the sudden burst of speed that she could only reel back in shock. "W-Wait—"

"Gotcha!" he quickly lunged with an open palm to her neck.

_Craaackle!_

The sharp sound of electricity came from his hand. Afterwards, there was silence. For a minute, it was as though time had stopped as the two were frozen like statues. Blair stood with her arms dropped and shoulders slumped. Her head was titled up with hair covering her eyes. Meanwhile, Stein was in a low battle stance with his right arm stretched forth. He was grinning maniacally.

It was quite a remarkable scene. The only thing that didn't seem to be still was Stein's lit cigarette as smoke continuously rose up and fouled the air.

_Cough…Cough…_

Blair broke the frozen setting. "Too bad," she coughed again.

_Craaackle!_

Immediately, electricity surged through Stein's hand once more. However, Blair only grinned at his attack as his hand was only a few millimeters short of her throat and, try as he might, the electric attack would not arc.

Carefully backing away, she heaved a sigh of relief once free of any danger. "Close call," she chuckled to Stein who remained perfectly still.

"For the onset to be delayed this long, you're not a normal human, are you?" she questioned.

In response, he struggled to unclench his teeth just enough to let the cigarette stick drop freely to the floor. Afterwards, a large amount of electricity surged through his body.

* * *

Blair stepped back in surprise, "W-What are you doing? Self-electrocu…Oh, I see. So you think I tampered with them, eh? You think I slipped in a snake or two?" Looking carefully at his actions, it would seem that he was trying to purge himself of magical parasites. Well, it wasn't surprising that he developed such a move, considering his previous experiences with Medusa's snakes.

"Sorry. But for one, I don't use magical snakes since they're hard to come by. Although, I find ordinary fugu works just as well," she said, snuffing out the cigarette with her shoe. "Oh, before I forget. I'd never touch _these_ filthy things. So, I laced the box cover instead," she laughed.

Knowing how dangerous Stein was, she took no chances in making sure he was taken out of the picture. Had she tampered with the cigarette sticks, Stein might have noticed an odd smell when he lit one or he could've easily just thrown them away considering how he held her in such bitter contempt. Furthermore, the toxin extracted from fugu had to be ingested in order to take effect so even if he did finish smoking the whole pack, she wasn't sure if it would affect him or not.

On the other hand, by tampering with the box cover, Stein would've already sealed his fate once he took the gift-wrapping off. But then again, this hinged on whether or not he would wash his hands before eating or drinking something. To make sure he didn't get a chance to do so, she timed it so that he'd receive the deadly present during afternoon tea time when the school cafeteria just so happen to be serving club sandwiches. Truly, nothing was left to chance.

"So, still think you can stop me, Stein?" she asked.

"…" the professor remained motionless.

Well, seeing as he was rather quiet about it, Blair grew bored and decided to go on her merry way.

* * *

6:53 p.m., same day—with only a few minutes before the party starts, Liz and Patty were getting a bit nervous. Looking around, Blair was nowhere to be seen.

"What do we do? Blair-san isn't here yet," Patty said, anxiously.

"Yeah, I know. If she doesn't show up in time, we're gonna have to—"

"MAKAAA!" Spirit suddenly came rushing past them.

"What the hell?" Liz turned to see the death scythe running around the yard, calling out her daughter's name. "Ugh, if things weren't bad enough," she groaned.

"Wow, looks like things are starting to liven up a bit," Tsubaki chuckled, beside her.

"Woah! Where did you come from!" gasped Liz.

"Eh? That's so mean," she pouted, "I've been standing here for the past twenty minutes now! Don't tell me I've been demoted to an 'extra' student!" Unbeknownst to her, had her statement been said any louder, dozens of students would've quickly taken offense. Fortunately, they didn't hear it over the ruckus of Spirit's shouting.

"Well sorry; things have been so busy lately…and well we…" Liz was having trouble thinking of an excuse.

Then, Patty started asking, "Where's the monkey? Where's the monkey?" She would laugh as she repeated this.

"Y-Yeah, that's right!" her sister quickly capitalized. "We didn't notice you 'coz your monkey wasn't around making an idiot of himself! Yup, that was probably it!" she said, trying to convince her.

For a moment, Tsubaki looked as though she was about ready to throw a fit, but then…"Oh, I see," she sighed with relief (and so did Liz). She thought herself silly for worrying that her existence was dwindling away. "Well, Black Star said he was going to make a big entrance when the party starts so, I guess he'll be up there later shouting his name," she smiled, pointing to the large spire protruding above the school yard.

"Uh-huh… speaking of which, where's the rest of —Wow! Now that's an entrance," Liz said in awe.

"Oh my," Tsubaki went red.

"He-he, she's like a princess!" commented Patty.

* * *

The three girls were surprised by the sight of Maka and Chrona as they made their grand entrance.

"I-I thought you said you couldn't carry me at all!" Maka cried out as Chrona carried her bridal-style.

"I can't. But, I forgot that I could turn my black blood into a cast," she chuckled for underneath her white tux, black blood had solidified to form a sturdy frame for her arms.

"Well, okay. But still, to arrive looking like this. I hope nobody noti..ces," she froze when she realized that all eyes were pretty much on them at that point.

"H-Hi everyone," Chrona said with surprising confidence.

"This is so embarrassing," Maka cringed, seeing all their judging eyes. She really wished nothing more than to find a hole nearby to hide in. What must have been really hard for her to face wasn't the reaction of her classmates or the fact that dozens of cameras were broadcasting all of it to the world, but it was the eerie silence that persisted.

As everyone kept starring at them, nobody said a word. It was really difficult to get an idea of what'd happen next. Will everyone suddenly laugh, point, and throw stuff at them? Or will they just pull out the torches and pitchforks and start lynching? It was this uncertainty brought by their silence that really troubled her almost to the point of crying.

Then as she looked up at Chrona, expecting to find her in an even worse state that hers, she was shocked. Instead of tears on her face, there was conviction as Chrona looked defiantly back at the peanut gallery. It was as if her expression was shouting out: "So what? Got a problem with this?" Seeing her in such a splendid form, Maka couldn't help but blush and wonder, "Was Chrona ever this…manly?"


	32. Happy Holidays 1

**Episode 32: Happy Holidays 1**

* * *

Previously: Maka and Chrona tried to sneak into the party unnoticed… which ended miserably as the two found themselves at the very center of attention…

As everyone kept starring at them, nobody said a word. It was really difficult to get an idea of what'd happen next. But, before the eerie silence got awkward, it was broken and sadly replaced by something even more embarrassing…

"MAKA!" Spirit shouted out with tears flowing from his eyes and green slime oozing from his nose. After realizing what everyone was looking at, he quickly blitzed through the crowd of students until he finally reached the two girls.

"Maka! W-What's wrong? Why— Are you hurt?" he gasped, seeing Chrona gently set her down on a chair.

"It's nothing!" she was quick to answer back.

"Wait! Let Papa help you!" he reached for her feet when…

_SLAP!_

Chrona suddenly struck his hand. "Sorry, but she sprained her ankle walking up the steps. It might swell up if you bother her any further," she explained, "but she's really tough. All she needs is just a little rest and she'll be all better."

Everyone was taken aback by this, especially Spirit. "O-Oh, okay… thank you, I guess."

"No problem, we're family after all," she smiled.

"Yeah, we're family…wait! What?" he looks at her, confused.

"C-CHRONA!" Maka gasped in disbelief.

"It's alright," she winked. "Everyone knows so we might as well come clean."

"W-Wait! We can't—"

"I am Maka's girlfriend!" she announced, quite boldly. At once, jaws fell and eyes popped. As people were shocked by the revelation, Maka cringed, anticipating a horrible reaction when…

_Gurgle…Gurgle…_

* * *

"Whoa! He's foaming at the mouth!" Patty laughed as she pointed to Spirit who was lying on the floor suffering what appeared to be an epileptic seizure.

"Looks like the shock was too much for him, huh?" Liz kneeled down, poking him with a stick. "Should we call an ambulance or should we just kick him off to the side?"

Well, it wasn't much of a question as everyone automatically opted for the latter choice and helped him tumble down the steps. Then, when attention drew back to Maka and Chrona, the two girls expected the same treatment but then…

A roaring "CONGRATULATIONS!" was shouted as the students erupted with thunderous applause. Each and every one of them stood up and praised the new couple. "Ha! It's about time you guys went and said it!" chuckled some of the students who gave them thumbs up.

"Hey, what's—Wait! You all knew!" the two girls were shocked.

Everyone immediately laughed as Tsubasa stepped forth to explain, "We did. But since you guys didn't say anything, we didn't want to get ahead of ourselves." As she said this, many of the male students even joked that they might have gotten a 'Maka-Megaton-Chop' if they mentioned something.

"I-I don't understand," Maka was confused. She didn't expect this kind of a reaction. At best, she expected some kind of general uneasiness or at least a little berating from the male students, but never full acceptance from everyone.

This was too good to be true, and yet seeing all the happy smiles of their friends and classmates, she couldn't help get teary-eyed. All the fear and worry that stressed her out and kept her dreading this moment—all of it seemed to melt away.

"Maka," Chrona leaned to whisper, "Looks like everything's going to work out fine, huh?"

"Yeah, but it's all thanks to you," she smiled warmly at her.

* * *

Meanwhile, high above the crowd, Black Star was sitting cross-legged on one of the parapets. Wearing a blue suit and smelling of cheap cologne, he looked down on the people and smiled to see how everyone was fired up. It looks like it was now time to for him to shine.

As he went up and got on the spire that was protruding above the party area, he brought with him a box full of fireworks. It would seem that he intended to make his entrance to be as magnificent and flashy as ever before. Well, considering how Maka and Chrona were always at center-stage, it was a smart move on his part.

However, as he was arranging the fireworks to fire off every which way, he suddenly froze upon realizing that someone had been watching him from the shadows this whole time. He couldn't make out who it was, but he knew it wasn't someone good.

As he stood up to confront the person, he felt something was off. The air around him grew cold and thick that he found difficulty in breathing. And for some reason, his body was a lot heavier than it was and even moving his arms needed some extra effort. It was like being underwater.

"Who are you!" he shouted.

At once, a tremendous wave of force slammed against his body, almost knocking him over. As he regained balance, he found himself standing before the Shinigami.

"H-How did—?"

All of a sudden, the Shinigami pulled out the Excalibur sword from within his body and brandished it high. Before Black Star could react, wings of light appeared from the weapon and the two of them were instantaneously teleported away.


	33. Happy Holidays 2

**Episode 33: Happy Holidays 2**

* * *

6:56 p.m., same day— the excitement from Maka and Chrona's coming-out declaration had settled and the crowds of students were slowly returning to their seats.

Without her partner, Tsubaki felt it lonely to sit at her table alone, so she decided to accompany the Thompson Sisters for a while longer as they returned to the stage. Of course, she didn't want to get in their way, so she went to seat herself at the back when Patty suddenly yelped in pain.

"Owwie!" she rubbed the bump on her head whilst handing something over to her sister.

"What is it?" asked Tsubaki.

"You tell me. It has the face of your idiot on it!" she showed her a damaged rocket with a badly-drawn face of Black Star printed on the side.

"This is Black Star's…" looking up to see where it came from, she quickly jumped back to dodge a lot of falling fireworks.

"What's going on?" Liz looked up to see Black Star standing precariously on one of the spires. "Watch where you're dropping your garbage, stupid!" she shouted, shaking her fist at him.

Oddly enough, Black Star did not react. He simply stood there with a big smile on his face …

* * *

_"BLACK STAR!" all of the students were screaming his name. Banners and posters of him were everywhere. Maka, Soul, and Sid were even holding a large sign with his name written all over it._

_ "What's going on?" he was understandably confused seeing as he and the Shinigami were immediately greeted by an eruption of cheer and applause the second they appeared on stage._

_ "Well, since tomorrow's Xmas," said the Shinigami, "we've prepared all of these to celebrate."_

_ "Yeah, but isn't tonight supposed to be a trap for the witches? Why is everyone here?" he asked, suspiciously._

_ "Well, this is YOUR Xmas present. We're celebrating YOU for all the things YOU'VE done. YOU are the BEST student we've ever had after all," he chuckled, slapping him on the back._

_ Upon hearing this, Black Star took a moment to take it in. Then, tears began to flow. "R-Really?" he started choking up. Black Star couldn't believe it. After all this time, people finally realized how great he was. It seemed all too good to be true._

* * *

"Black Star!" Tsubaki shouted from below but, with 'everyone' screaming the same thing in his head, it was no use. Unfortunately, since the other students knew of his over-the-top antics, nobody took the situation seriously and just ignored him.

"Something's wrong," she said as the wind started to pick up and made Black Star sway back and forth. "I'm going up there," she told the Thompson Sisters. Avoiding Maka's mistake, she took off her heels and dashed barefoot into the school.

Running at full speed, she blitzed through the hallway towards the stairs. In her haste, she paid no attention to her surroundings as she even passed Blair, who was walking nonchalantly towards the entrance.

* * *

In the meantime, Black Star was having the happiest moment of his life…

_With legions of fans chanting his name and dozens of cameras trained on him, the Shinigami told him to go forth and seize the moment. With fame and recognition waiting for him, only a few steps separated him from his proverbial date with destiny. _

Of course, in reality, one small step was all that kept him from taking a tumble and getting acquainted with the stone grounds below.

_ "It's YOUR time to shine," the Shinigami told him._

_ "Yosh! My time to shine…" as he was about to take that fatal step, Black Star suddenly stopped midway. _

_ "Something wrong?" asked the Shinigami._

_He grinned, "You think I'm an idiot!"_ _He quickly turned and punched the Shinigami square in the mask, sending him flying._

In doing so, the illusion was shattered and Black Star found himself standing on the spire once more. Meanwhile, whoever it was he punched was sent back into the shadows.

"Looks like all that training paid off," he chuckled. Had he been shown that illusion several months ago, he probably would've fallen for it. But thanks to hard work, determination, and Tsubaki's help, he managed to quell a lot of his inner demons these past weeks. So, an attention-seeking histrionic he is not…well, at least not all the time.

"You really think you can beat the GREAT ME!" he laughed out loud.

_Ku-ku-ku… so, even an idiot like you can learn a thing or two…_

A familiar voice echoes in Black Star's ears. "What? Who are you!" he shouted. As his opponent stepped into the light and answered the question, Black Star could only drop his jaw in shock.


	34. Happy Holidays 3

**Episode 34: Happy Holidays 3**

* * *

With only a minute before seven o'clock, Liz and Patty were frantically preparing themselves to start the party without Blair.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Liz started to panic. Despite her personality, Liz wasn't the type of person to suddenly take charge. Sure, so far she's done quite well in preparation for the party. But all of it was only in accordance to Blair's instructions—which, by the way, ended with: "Make sure to seat Kid and Maka away from the stage before the party starts" an instruction that doesn't seem to apply with the current situation.

"Is there something wrong?" Blair leaned in beside her to ask.

"Yeah, there is! We only have a few seconds before—Blair!" she gasped, finally noticing her.

"So, is everything alright? Are we good to go?" she asked, looking around the stage.

"Y-Yeah," Liz sighed with relief. "I did everything ya asked except for the last one 'cos Maka showed up with Chrona and not Kid. But I still placed them far away from the stage, is that alright?"

"Perfect," she smiled, peeking through the curtain.

"Is there anything else, we should do?" asked Patty.

"Yes, do your jobs and whatever happens, make sure you have that book handy at all times," she pointed to the Book of Exorcism lying on the table.

"Yes, ma'am!" the Thomspon Sisters saluted.

"Alright, looks like all that's left is to get this party started!" she picked up the mike and was about ready to signal the curtains when…

* * *

"Hello! Hello!" the Shinigami suddenly appeared on stage, greeting them with his usual easygoing demeanor.

"Shinigami!" Blair was taken aback.

_Why the hell is he here? The party hasn't even started yet!_

Blair didn't expect him to appear so soon. You see, to make sure all goes smoothly, she created several measures to limit any potential threat to her plans, among which was the neutralizing of Stein and the death scythes.

Having concluded that the best way to take down several of them at once was during afternoon tea time when they lowered their guard, having felt a false sense of security around the Shinigami. But of course, she also had to consider a contingency plan for those individuals who did not attend the afternoon gathering.

As one would've already seen, the results were more than adequate. However, even without the death scythes around, the obvious fact remained that the Shinigami was still the biggest threat to her plans. Unfortunately, unlike his death scythes, he wasn't someone she could easily dispatch using conventional methods.

Luckily for Blair, a solution to this problem just arrived recently in the form of his beloved, Kid-kun. With the way he's been acting, it was only a matter of time before the Shinigami confronts him about his behavior. Besides, considering the amount of bad publicity the school received due to the Paris incident, the Shinigami cannot afford to have a scandal especially now that the whole world was watching them. In any case, she can only hope that their little father-son talk distracts him long enough for her to complete her mission.

* * *

_This doesn't make any sense. Kid-kun isn't here, so why the hell is this old man here?_

Sneering underneath a polite smile, she asked, "Why are you here?"

"I'm looking for Kid-kun. Have you seen him?"

The Thompson Sisters shook their heads.

_This is bad! If Kid-kun isn't here to distract him, then he'll probably go back to the Death Room and discover everything!_

"H-He's probably walking about somewhere," Blair said, nervously. "Can't you use Soul Perception to find him?"

"I did. But he isn't in the city," he answered as he looked towards the sandy dunes, "He isn't out there either. Though, it looks like a lot of people are still coming here. I can sense a lot of souls way out in the sand."

"A-Anyway, if Kid-kun did go somewhere, I'm sure he'd leave some sort of clue back home," she chuckled, sounding even more nervous than before.

"Maybe," the Shinigami seemed unsure as he flew off.

* * *

_That was close!_

Blair was relieved.

"Are you okay?" Patty asked, seeing her sigh so heavily.

"It's nothing," she quickly composed herself, "But change of plans. Stop what you're doing and go look for Kid-kun. I'm sure he's still here."

"Eh! But didn't he just say Kid-kun wasn't here?"

"Forget what he said. If Kid-kun left the city, I would've known about it. So get going! It is very important that you find him quickly."

"Oh come on! He could be anywhere! It's a big school, you know?" Liz pouted.

"Way, way, waaaay big!" her sister added.

They protested even more, but Blair wouldn't hear any of it. "Start searching on the upper floors. That's where I last saw him. Now get going!" she commanded. And so, the Thompson Sisters trudged towards the entrance, perhaps seeing how futile it was to complain any further.

With their departure, Blair could calmly rethink her situation: So far, she just completed her first objective of neutralizing the potential threats to her plan. All that was left now was to start the party and it would be smooth sailing from then on. However, with the recent development of Kid's disappearance, the whole plan was in danger of falling apart.

"He's still got to be here somewhere. He can't have…" she paused. A sudden realization came upon her as she looked towards the desert, "those idiots better not have screwed anything up!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Happy New Year everyone! First of all, I'd like to thank you all your patronage in the previous year, I seriously couldn't have gotten this far with you, my dear readers. :) This year, I hope to be able to further improve my writing skills and be able to give you guys even better fanfics to read and enjoy! :) So, HAPPY NEW YEAR! XD


End file.
